Bold and admirable efforts from camp Kennedy Agyapong to stoke the fires that keep the spirit of a sanitised society alive. But I am afraid these efforts are largely in futility. Largely. Why do I say so?
As long as we live and exist in a society that perpetuate an overarching religious reverence, it will be impossible to tear down “bad nuts” no matter how bad these nuts are or may seem. After all, the distinction is always not clear cut, since we are dealing with “spiritual matters.”
It might be one thing or the other, but there are definitely reasons why all over the country hundreds of thousands if not millions, flock to the worship centres of these questionable “spiritual” characters despite what crusaders like Kennedy and the likes will say or do.
And one of the major reasons being, we are a religious majority. The levels and strength of our “faith” might differ – from hardcore non-theists to zealous (almost fanatical) faith “mongers”. Yet, we all hold some traces of religious awareness, most certainly hardcoded and programmed into us from the years and decades of bombardment with religious tenets.
My favourite part ensues. How do we ensure that the efforts of the likes of Kennedy and NET2 truly make impact.
- Strip away the reverence that all religious groups and persons have enjoyed and are enjoying.
- Establish a statutory regulatory body to truly oversee religious activities. A revolutionary move, but we shall flesh out its implementation in an inclusive, open discourse.
Let’s see religion for what it is or what it should be – a non-profit civil society group, under statutory and civil regulation and oversight; where soliciting for monies for intangible, immaterial and inconceivable products and services like “divine blessings” is tantamount to FRAUD! And will be prosecuted in the law courts.
And mysterious miracle waters & concoctions are investigated by the FDA, CSIR and appropriate bodies.
Why should we not subject religious institutions to the needed scrutiny? Why? After all, NONE of them have provided any unequivocal evidence to support their legitimacy as a divine or paranormal entity. Giving rise to the plethora of insanely questionable religious characters who adopt personas that border on blatant blasphemy: “Angels” they want to be called.
And since efforts like Kennedy’s will continue to be denied the impact they deserve; since these questionable characters will only face a semblance of “justice” only when they infringe on the constitution; since even after the said infringement they walk about free because we have bought into this religious reverence and are thus inclined to give in into its associated respect and/or fear for/of the “anointed”.
The ONLY way forward is the total SCRUTINY of ALL religious institutions and persons.
So in the end, there are no sheep and there are no wolves, yet (or perhaps ever!) – for we are new dwellers of the countryside, gazing upon new, unfamiliar and infinite terrains.
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