Saturday,
April 28, 2012
The Bishop of
the Obuasi Diocese of the Methodist Church, the Rt. Rev. Stephen R.
Bosomtwi-Ayensu is reported to have warned President Mills to reject the name “Asomdwehene”
or face the wrath of God. His reason? The name, which means “King of
Peace,” must be used by none other than Christ.
Speaking to XYZ
News, Rt. Rev. Bosomtwi-Ayensu said he is pleading with Ghanaians who continuously
refer to the President as “Asomdwehene” to stop or will subject President Mills
to God’s wrath (Ghanaweb, April 28, 2012).
Of all the ugly things happening
in this country of late, none can be more annoying than this vain warning. I
will be blunt to say upfront that this Methodist Bishop is a disgrace to
Christendom.
First, Christ is not a “King of
Peace,” but a “Prince of Peace.” Second, this Methodist Bishop’s rant reminds
me of the Conference of Nicaea convened by Emperor Constantine (I think in 321
AD) at which he asked the Christian Religious Leaders the knotty question: Is
Jesus Christ was “the same as God” or “the Son God”?
Shockingly, the Christian religious
leaders at that Conference quarreled among themselves and couldn’t come up with
any responsible answer. Emperor Constantine then declared that it thenceforth
be known and accepted that Christ was “the Son of God.”
Christendom has ever since
regarded Christ as such, regardless of any other name that anybody may ascribe
to him. Had Emperor Constantine declared otherwise, the adulation would have
taken a different turn.
Strictly speaking, my Muslim
friends have told me that the Christian perception of Christ and that of the
Muslim differ on that score, especially with Christians equating Christ to God
while the Muslims regard him (Issah) as one of the Prophets!!
No doubt, there has been an
age-old conflict between Islam and Christianity over this article of faith. The
Crusades and Jihads just symbolize the boiling over of those doctrinal conflicts
across the religious board.
What this Methodist Bishop has
set in motion is nothing but a political crusade that will backfire. There is
nothing “religious” or “Christian” about it.
The overarching question, then,
is: What is in this name for Jesus Christ that anybody should fight over?
I must say that this is the
second time that I have heard anybody turn appellation into a needless tug-of-war.
The first occasion was sometime in the early 1990s when I listened to Odefuo
Boamponsem, Denkyirahene, complain at a meeting with him at Jukwa that he was
really upset that someone had also picked the name “Odefuo” by which to be
called. Indeed, that person was none other but Odefuo Adade Bekoe, one-time
District Secretary for the Afram Plains in the Rawlings PNDC era.
The Denkyirahene said he had to
travel to that area to warn him to drop that name because it was reserved for
him. I couldn’t believe that an enlightened traditional leader would do that.
But that was what he said he did. We may forgive him because he acted as a
human being in defence of what he felt entitled to.
But we will not pardon this
Methodist Bishop because he is not fighting a human cause. He has taken the
matter to a spiritual level and must be brought where he belongs. He can’t
fight Christ’s battle for him. In any case, Christ doesn’t even have to feature
in this “Asomdwehene” accolade because he abhors self-adulation or
gratification. His is humility, temperance, continence, love, a life of
tolerance and self-effacement.
The closest Christ ever came to
being associated with a name was when the Jews sought to imply that he was the
Messiah (sent down to deliver them from the autocracy of the Roman political
institution, not to send them to heaven). What did Christ tell them in
response?
Again, when he was being tried by
the Sanhedrin and Pontius Pilate tauntingly asked him whether he was the King
of the Jews, what did Jesus say in response? Instead of conferring on himself
that title, he repudiated it with the retort: “Thou sayest so” (You are saying
so, Pontius Pilate”).
Yet, at his crucifixion, he was
mocked with the inscription INRI (King) on the part of the cross above his head.
But that’s not all about him, to
return to why he didn’t end the matter of appellation hanging. He wanted to
know whether the Jews had indeed placed him on a pedestal as an honour; that
was why he asked his disciples: Who do people say I am? They gave several
responses; but not satisfied, Jesus asked them: Who do you (my disciples) say I
am?
Peter’s answer? You are the
Christ (the anointed one), to which Jesus responded positively by
authoritatively establishing Peter as his successor with the investiture “You
are Peter, the Rock upon which I will build my church.”
And Peter led the Apostles to pass
through spiritual encounters and the events at Pentecost, ensuring that the
Great Commission was enforced.
In a turn of events, though, Jesus
Christ himself is often referred to by Christians as “the Rock of Ages,” a mere
adulatory term given him by human beings seeking solace in his name and
ministry.
Throughout history, people have
either given themselves names or have been hailed as such by others for various
reasons. No name-calling has brought down any wrath of God on anybody. At
worst, name-calling becomes a problem only if it is pejorative enough to
instigate mob action, especially in parts of the world where illiteracy,
ignorance, and strong ethnic attachments set people on edge to react violently
to anything that is regarded as disparaging of their status. We have examples
in Ghana to remind us of the negative aspects of name-calling. But not in the
case of Christendom.
Appellations form part of
Christian expression of the religious experience. How many names don’t
Christians babble out in honour of God? All the El-Shaddais, Adonais, Elohims,
and many jaw-breaking ones are constantly rattled out as a demonstration of one’s
desire to enter a communion with God.
Where in the Bible is it stated
that Christ conferred the name (“King of Peace”) on himself and decreed that
nobody else should go by it?
What is our business if someone
goes about calling himself GOD? Should we fight that person on that score or
leave him to what we acknowledge as the Supreme Deity to tackle if name-calling
is anything for that Supreme Deity to bother about at all?
I have a few more questions for
this ignorant Methodist Bishop:
·
How
did that name (“Asomdwehene”) come to be reserved for Jesus Christ and Christ
only?
·
Was
it Christ himself who announced that name (“King of Peace”) by which this
Methodist preacher is forcing us to call him and him only?
·
Was
it not the human being who coined that name and all others as listed in the
Christian Bible? Where is the evidence to confirm that Christ accepted that
title?
·
So,
if by our human estimation, Christ alone is to be called by our human coinages,
are we not reducing him to what we think he is? Where has Christ ever appeared
to tell us that he wants to be called by that name, anyway?
In fact, this Methodist preacher
is a lazy fellow to think that way. He is a classic example of the problem that
our churches have created and continue to create because of the way they do
things.
The name to be given Jesus (“Emmanuel,”
or “God is with us”) had been established long before his birth. That “Jesus
Christ” was later added to supplant “Emmanuel” is a different story.
But calling him by all sorts of names
alone doesn’t ensure our piety, especially in this human context.
The problem we have in this world
is that some religious leaders have taken over Christ’s (or God’s) battle to
fight for him. They have been quick to appropriate the doctrines and
manipulated their teachings to serve parochial interests. That is why we have
fundamentalism and extremism all over the place, which is the seed that often
blossoms into anti-social and deviant conduct and incubates such destructive
acts as terrorism, anti-Semitism, hate speeches, and genocide, among others.
It is a clear demonstration of
intolerance and paralyzing ignorance (if not mischief) by this Methodist Bishop
who has arrogated to himself the role of God’s messenger to make such an
obnoxious statement.
I am irritated by this kind of
empty pontification on roof-top just for the sake of publicity. This Methodist
Bishop must bow his head in shame for taking on something that doesn’t really
need anybody’s attention.
What has calling President Mills “Asomdwehene”
detracted from Jesus’ worth? Or has Jesus come down to complain to him about
that name being “misused” or “misapplied” to delay his Second Coming?
Having been created in the image
and likeness of God, what is wrong if we human beings act in ways to reflect
the good and not the bad aspects of God? The name “Asomdwehene” symbolizes
peace and must be upheld as such.
Who has told this Methodist
Bishop that his own label of “Right Reverend” or “Bishop” is pleasing in the
sight of Christ?
I
shall return…
E-mail: mjbokor@yahoo.com
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