Monthly Archives: April 2012

Africa! Africa! Africa! Who are you right here, right now…in this place…at this time. Why are you struggling? You, children of Africa, have you forgotten you have the power of the mother in your genes, the fierceness of the fathers in your bones? Guzo! Stand up!

Open your minds! Have you forgotten in whose likeness you are made? You are the descendants of the great African warriors, the great African fisher men, wrestlers, scientists, artisans. KULIE! RISE UP! From whose loins were you conceived and in whose womb were you fertilized? BIDO RIWA ELU! START CLIMBING! You Mazi, have the power of the great grandfathers…WAKE UP! You Umu Ada, have the wisdom of the great grandmothers…BULIE ONWE UNU ELU! PICK YOURSELVES UP!

Clean your minefield of self doubt and dependence on foreign intervention in everything you do! NDE IKE BIA KA ANYI JE! YOU ARE THE POWER! LET’S MOVE! Reclaim your land, reclaim your culture, reclaim your children, and reclaim your economy. Reclaim your dignity! Who are you? Why are you derailed by the name others have given you? Why are you John, Peter, Paul, Catherine and Mary? Why are you not Kofi, Chidi, Kama, Bongi, Ekanem, Kehinde, Musa? Chineke is waiting to hear from you! RECLAIM CHINEKE!

The time is here, the time is now! Anu na enwegi agba atagbu go anyi (The animal without a jaw is eating us), and we are adding salt for taste! We are leaving our children bereft of their identity! KWOLU! SPEAK UP!

Why do we play the religious 419 of chasing a Jewish ancestry?? To what end! KNOW THE TRUTH! We are Igbo! We are Yoruba! We are Hausa! We are Akan! We are Wolof! We are Zulu! We are Mandingo! We are Fulani! We are Dogon, Anansi, Maasai, Afar. We are over 7400 African Tribes of North – East – South – West and Central Africa – as well as the clan of African islands. WE ARE AFRICAN!

AFRICA, Africa Africa! Who are you eager to be? Embrace yourself so the world will embrace you! Develop into a part of an advanced order! Hold fast to spiritual law. Become the unfolding of your humanity according to the ordained spiritual plan! We have the ability to do, to be and to create spiritual principles that evolve into peace and well–being! Act in acceptance! You are noble, divine and blessed!

Commit to the will of Chineke…create your rebirth!

Otito Nile Diri Chineke!

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Suppose we assume that it is imperative to read the Holy Scriptures such as the Christian Bible as a mandate for connecting to God, and the book is the word of God (Iwe use the word God to reflect the Christian name for the creator). The question one must ponder is whether the Bible transposed in English and considered the true WORD of God, reflects God’s intention to leave races of people who speak in different tongues in the dark from “His” word? Does it mean that the truth is purposely kept from those who can neither read or are unsighted? How do you assure that everyone on earth hears, reads and sees the “word” of God if it would mean a reliance on somebody else? Is it feasible that all humanity can abandon their system of supplication in favor of Christianity?
We know that this is not feasible and if not what will the fate of the “non-knowing” (as opposed to “non believers”) be? Is it truly God’s desire to burn them in the “devil’s” eternal hell? This also creates an image of a non benevolent God who creates confusion and then takes it out on the humanity “he” created, and worse, works in consort with the devil to create a supply chain of human sacrifice. As horrendous and gasp inspiring as this may sound, an alternative explanation (proven that is) is welcome. Chiists adjust to truth.
Certainly there is truth that can be gleaned from the scriptures and from other spiritual texts. Many altruistic and conscientious people of faith are guided by the principles in their holy texts. However, if we are to believe that God loves everyone equally, it stands to reason that an individual’s relationship with the creator from within the natural essence of their being is an acceptable process.
The concept of Chineke(without gender specification…Holy Spirit and Creator) is an awareness that most people already have within, so the notion that only through the written texts can one communicate with the Creator is actually a result of doctrinal messaging rather than a symptom of factual experience. To insist that there must be a direct link to Chineke through a book requires one to assess what the consequences may be when one is in trouble and has no access to any holy book for spiritual guidance. Only individuals who accept and hallow a book written by God would not be able to consciously understand the conflict between inner knowing and coerced ideological reverence.
Chiism realizes that the Holy Nkomii(Deep thinking), is the pragmatic compilation of processes that have been used by our ancestors and the living whose lives were and are exemplary and whose processes can be used by humanity to address personal challenges, and obstacles to foster personal development and triumph. The Nkomi can safely be said to have been inspired by Chineke but not Chineke’s WORD and a required mandate for achieving Chineke’s blessings. Chiism is a proponent of direct communication with Chineke. Our written texts are simply mumps upon this communication process and not the prerequisite for it.

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Let us use a supposition to address this argument. Christianity claims to be the only relevant and authentic religion and the Christian adherents are taught to make such claims. Suppose we assume that this is the case (pay no attention to the reality of its copious factions and brands).

Through oral history, many indigenous communities discuss a relationship with Chineke (God/Goddess). These people did not have a relationship with Jesus Christ as the only medium through whom Chineke’s blessings can be invoked, nor did they even know of his existence. They eventually died before the coming of the Christian religion into their societies. Given the premise that there is no other route for approaching the grace of Chineke but through the son, suffice it to say that all these people are doomed for hell as their final destination. The notion that the Christian God created humanity and created the different geographical locations, then to what degree should the responsibility of the creation of this geographical incongruity be attributed to God?

Clearly, Chiism ought to and have to be the choice left open if there in fact is a just and compassionate acumen controlling the mechanism of creation.

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The level of vigor depends on the level of doctrines each religious organization demands of its adherents and how much devotion the adherents employ in practice. For many, worshiping “God” has become quite cumbersome. It has become quite confusing trying to navigate through the Trinity of God, the Trinity of Brahman the creator, Shiver the Destroyer, Vishnu the preserver, the duality of many other intermediaries and so forth. Could it be possible that one could by-pass all these intermediaries to meet Chineke? Is it possible that the seven graces of Chineke in Chiism are truly just additional energy sources of God but not necessarily mandatory to get to Chineke given that Chi is in us? Is it not possible to simply get to Chineke without the mandatory requirement to visit all the other energy sources?

Chiism allows for direct Communication with Chineke in spite of these additional doctrinal specifications.

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Religion if the definition of the concept is taken into serious consideration reflects actions that the practitioners of the Religion must do to achieve everlasting life in the hereafter, to be one with the ancestors or wherever the ultimate destination the religion states is for everlasting life, all varnished over by practices. What is more is that the guarantee of this sacred place of mystery seems likely an empty one given that there is no verification there even is a final place where spirits go. It may all be a focused principle of faith which is accepting as true without really knowing….purely the act of deferring uncertainty.

There is something about faith in Chineke that differentiates it from all other categories on the other hand. Except if one strives to refute it, the thought that Chineke is real unquestionably has the halo of fact to it. This halo of fact is the “intrinsic vigor of Chiism” and any theistic religion, making it more superfluous than it appears to be. The notion of Chineke as a guiding spirit becomes a reality if in believing it; one is led by this acceptance to be a force of good for self and society. The Igbos of Nigeria say and name their children “Chidumebi” …I am guided by faith in my Chi. This acknowledgement thus creates the mental understanding of something powerful that guide’s one’s fortunes. This acknowledgement creates the “intrinsic Vigor” that motivates, creates and guides, and we call THIS VIGOR Chineke (God).

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Welcome to the (ONYINYE (GIVING) PROJECT. In African tradition, the community helps to support each other. Even during the New-Yam festival and beyond, those whose farmland yielded more food will give to others and diligently support the market place. We had development unions whose objective was to uplift businesses and peoples lives in the village. Through the ONYNYE PROJECT we help African Projects in Africa. But here in the US, we find a struggling minority company and spend a minimum of 10 dollars. Onyinye community outreach comprise of, ONYINYE ITE URIE (PAINT OUT…where people gather at a particular house with volunteers to paint a needy family’s home), ONYINYE IZU AHIA (MARKET PLACE. STUMP …visit a small business and spend at least 10 dollars), ONYINYE OLU IHUNANYA (volunteering at a designated place).

If you want to start one of these Onyinye activities in your community, please leave a request. Let us begin to support our small businesses. When you participate, please go to globalfaithministriesofChiism Facebook page and post pictures of you and your friends and community participating in any of these activities. Be sure to hold up pictures of the 10 dollars if engaged in the ONYINYE IZUAHIA (MARKET PLACE STUMP…Visiting a small business and spending at least 10 dollars). Everyone, irrespective of Religion can participate. Listed is the first recommended ONYINYE IZUAHIA (MARKET PLACE. STUMP)

May19, 2012 ONYINYE (GIVING)

Caribbean African Food Mart 4463 Rockbridge Rd, Stone Mountain, GA 30083

Caribbean African Food Mart

(404) 549-9100

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Rev. Richard Cizik
President, The New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good
An Evangelical Voice for Trayvon
Posted: 03/27/2012 3:13 pm
HUFFINGTON POST
The death of Trayvon Martin ought to provoke some righteous indignation. Not just from the folks who turn out in Manhattan and Florida, where protests are occurring, but from the white evangelical community in pulpits throughout the country.
True, not all the facts are known, and a number of witnesses have come forward with presumably relevant information. Yet it is undeniable that a young man is dead and without the protests and media coverage, the person who took his life would have most likely walked away scot free. That’s an outrage and reminiscent of days long before the Civil Rights movement’s hard work to guarantee civil rights for all Americans.
Among those who protested in New York City was our friend and Advisory board member, the Rev. Dr. Peter Heltzel. Peter is a preacher, writer and professor whose books such as Jesus and Justice argue that evangelicals must address justice issues such as racism, income inequality and a living wage, a cause for which he is a leader in that foremost of American cities, New York.
Heltzel is also a voice for a new more collaborative relationship between black and white evangelicals. This is now more and more the reality than a dream. He argues that a stream of prophetic evangelicalism emerged in the 1970s that sought to carry on the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr.’s call for racial and economic justice. In contrast to the religious right, prophetic evangelicals seek to be anti-racists and are active leaders in movement for social justice. Heltzel see the election of Barack Hussein Obama as a watershed moment in the life of our nation, one that presents the evangelical church with an opportunity to claim its prophetic legacy. It is time for evangelicals — black, brown, white and every shade in between — to overcome our divisions on racial lines through confession of sin and repentance collectively embodied in the growing movement for justice.
As evangelicals, we’ve come through our desert-like wilderness experience. It’s a time now in which “new evangelicals” and other like-minded believers are recovering their voice and biblical witness against the sins of racism, discrimination and inequality. You see it in the numbers of those who voted for Obama, despite the color of his skin. You see it in the sympathy given to the Occupy movement’s protest that one percent of society benefits at the expense of the other 99 percent.
Heltzel marched in the “One Million Hoodie March” on March 21 in downtown Manhattan to protest, as he starkly puts it, “the fact that the man that shot and killed Trayvon Martin did so because he was black and wearing a hood.” But is Heltzel the exception to the rule? If so, here’s one more voice saying what happened to Trayvon Martin is an outrage.
The facts as we know them are disturbing enough. A young, unarmed, black teenager is shot dead, which is awful in itself. But then the local police department does not pursue an investigation. Not until, that is, protests by leading African-American, civil rights and religious leaders. What explains this? I am wont to only speculate, but it looks like race has something to do with police inaction. Now, a full investigation is underway. Good. Maybe it will result in charges against the neighborhood watchman who shot Travyon Martin. I certainly hope so; the facts as we know them seem to warrant it. But the investigation will indicate one way or another.
Until we know for sure, we need to be careful to distinguish between revenge and justice. And while the tragic death of Trayvon cries out for justice, it also calls for love. Let us strive to retain the dignity of all humans, even our “enemies.” In this case that would mean the watchman and those in law enforcement who failed to do their duty. This is the way of Martin Luther King Jr., and the way of Jesus, and will not always be attractive to the media.
Meanwhile, some soul searching is called for here. Are we white evangelicals way too ensconced in our “gated communities” to understand the way our black brothers and sisters feel? Sadly, I suspect so. Do we have empathy for the young black males who are targeted by police and law enforcement? Something happened in our family that has forever altered our own perceptions of racism.
Over the course of the last few years, we’ve opened our home to take in those who are either homeless or in trouble and in need of short-term help. It certainly wasn’t something we planned or expected. We did what many other families do when a need arises. When confronted with situations in which young people, sometimes in trouble with the law, need a warm roof over their heads, we did what we think Jesus would do. We offered them hospitality, which turned into weeks and months. It was quite an experience, particularly on race issues. It was a lot more than loud rap music seemingly shaking the walls. It was about their safety and perceptions, some real and some imagined, of being “targets of investigation” and improper police behavior.
When I first heard about Trayvon Martin, I thought first of “Terrance,” who was one of these young men who had come to live with us. They even look alike, obviously very intelligent and handsome young African-American teenagers, with one big difference: Terrance came from a broken home, a really troubled background.
He had experienced his father being shot dead standing next to him after church on Sunday morning, and his mother abandoning him to pursue life as a drug dealer. He was as good a kid as you could expect, given his difficult upbringing, and certainly not one to draw undue attention to himself. But he did draw attention, for one reason: He was black, and our neighborhood is predominantly white. I don’t recall any difficult experiences, as a result, but that’s because he was careful and mindful of the circumstances. Rightly or not, I did take the initiative to urge him, and the others who have stayed with us, to take off the “hoody” at night, if he wanted to take a walk in the neighborhood. I’m open to being criticized for this, I suppose, but most people here were unfamiliar with him and that seemed like a small concession.
More to the point is this fact: Terrance complained with a certain resignation, as did our other house guests, of constantly being watched and stereotyped. They each felt singled out at various times in their lives for harassment and punishment, often which far exceeded what a young, white male would get for the same infraction. It was a symptom, in my mind and theirs, that bigotry and discrimination still exists in America.
Terrance could cite chapter and verse about how he was given detention twice as long as white kids guilty of the same misbehavior. Or how “driving while black” meant getting pulled over for the slightest of driving errors. Or how being with a white male (me), could give him a measure of protection. Do we understand how wrong it is for these things to be happening in America?
It makes you more sensitive to the racial realities that still exist in America. We aren’t yet living in a color-blind society. There is still racism in our communities. There’s a black man in the White House, but there are many places where you can get killed just because of the color of your skin. That’s really sad, and just one reason why evangelicals should express some legitimate outrage, call it righteous indignation, when one young man is so senselessly killed. But will we hear of this from any evangelical church pulpit, newsletter, column or blog?
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