በስመ
አብ ወወልድ
ወመንፈስ ቅዱስ
አሐዱ አምላክ
አሜን
“አቤቱ ጌታዬ ሆይ ሥጋን ደስ ከማሰኘት አድነኝ”
ውዳሴ አምላክ ዘቀዳም
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The feud between the Two
Cities: Re-examining the Case for the defense of…Poverty and ‘primitivity’ -
in the age where financial success and egotism reigns
“Two loves formed two cities:
the love of self, reaching even to contempt of God, an earthly city; and the
love of God, reaching to contempt of self, a heavenly one.”
St.
Augustine
Anyone
born in some remote ‘primitive’ corner
of the world (like our country) relatively inaccessible to modern civilization
and its technological achievements, if suddenly snatched from his blessed ‘ደሳሳ
ጎጆ’ and thrown amidst a busy
metropolitan like Manhattan, is bound to be shocked and overawed by the overt
glamour and advancement of the western world (‘በህንጣ ላይ ህንጣ… በህንጣ ላይ ህንጣ… እንደው ምድረ ገነት አይደለም እንዴ?’ በማለት ሊደመም ይችላል). But once the initial jaw dropping emotional rollercoaster
recedes, some insightful individuals soon find out that we are not as backward and ignorant as they
initially thought. In fact some that dig a bit further may even find out that
the blissful state of poverty we wrongly call our enemy may not necessarily be as
evil as we presume it is. Let’s examine the facts surrounding the emergence of
civilizations from a Christian perspective and see where it takes us …
- Book of Enoch (መጽሐፈ ሄኖክ) reveals much of civilization was taught by fallen Sons of God. Azazel and Symazia, leading a sect of Angels called ‘the watchers’ transgress God’s commandments and reveal to humans forbidden knowledge (how to make weapons, indulge in magic and astrology…). For their transgressions they get condemned to a life of imprisonment for a thousand years:
“…ወደ እነርሱም ይገቡ ዘንድ ጀመሩ ከእነርሱም ጋራ አንድ ሆኑ በግብር አወቋቸው ሥር መማስን
ቅጠል መበጠስን ጋኔን መሳብን አስተማሯቸው … ፀነሱም
… and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of
roots, and made them acquainted with plants. And they became pregnant…”
(ሄኖክ 2:- 10(ትርጓሜ))
“… አዛዝኤል ሰይፍንና ሾተል መስራትን ጋሻ መሰጎድን ጥሩር
መልበስን አስተማራቸው … አምባር መስራትን ጌጥ ማጌጥን ዓይን መኳልን … ቅንድብ መሸለልን … የተመረጠ የከበረ ከሚሆን ከደንጋይ
የሚበልጥ ደንጊያን ከብረት የሚበልጥ ብረትን … ከብረት የሚበልጥ ብርን … ከብር የሚበልጥ ወርቅን … ከወርቅ የሚበልጥ ዕንቁን
አሳዩዋቸው … እግዚአብሔር ነጭ ጥፍር ቢፈጥር በእንሶስላ ማቅላትን በደንጓ መጠቆርን በሕናም … የአለምን ለውጥ አሳዩዋቸው … ያንዱን
ጽንስ ባንዱ ያንዱን ጽንስ ባንዱ ማኅፀን ማሳደርን … ፅኑዕ በደል ብዙ ሰሰንም ተደረገ ሳቱ አመነዘሩም ሥራቸውም ሁሉ ጠፋ … አሚዛራክ
ጋኔን የሚስቡን ምትሐት ማሳየትን አስተማረ … ሥር የሚምሱትን ቅጠል የሚበጥሱትን አስተማረ … አርሚሮስ ምታት ማሳየትን አስተማረ
… በራቅኤልም ኮከብ የሚያዩትን እንዲህ ያለ ሲወጣ እንዲህ ያለ ይደረጋል ማለትን … ኮከብኤልም እንዲህ ያለ ሲሆን እንዲህ ያለ
ይደረጋል እያለ … ጥምኤልም ኮከብ የሚያዩትን እንዲህ ያለ ኮከብ ሲወጣ እንዲህ ያለ ይሆናል የሚሉትን … አስራድኤልም ጨረቃ በዚህ
ስትወጣ ምህረት በዚህ ስትወጣ መዓት ይሆናል እያለ አስተማረ … በሰዎች ጥፋት ሰዎች ጮኹ ቃላቸውም ወደ ሰማይ ደረሰ …
... And Azazel taught men to make
swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the
metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments,
and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of
costly stones, and all coloring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness,
and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in
all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, 'Armaros the
resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the
constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the
earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as
men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .”(ሄኖክ 2፦18-26 ትርጓሜ) …
- Traditions tell us that the generation of Set (ትውልደ ሴት) was angelic in character remaining in Debir Kidus (ደብር ቅዱስ) (The Holy Mountain) and restricting themselves to praising and praying to God. (They were not obsessed with earthly civilizations. A far cry from the preoccupations of the descendants of his brother – Cain (ቃየን))
- Prior to Set, Abel’s vocation is of contrasting nature with that of Cain. Abel (note that his name signifies sorrow/poverty) tended cattle (i.e. was herdsman/አርብቶ አደር/) while Cain (his name itself refers to gain/possession) initially devoted towards tilling the earth (i.e. was a farmer/settler). He did so with the purpose of gaining. (Later on after his curse when the earth ceased to give him her strength, he pursued a career of a vagabond and robbery (the way of the money-lenders/bankers). And settling/farming is the beginning of ‘civilization’ as a herdsman doesn’t have deposits/capital while farming naturally provides excess for storage. Storage/capital is the beginning of greed and control which are the founding pillars of Capitalism.
“ADAM and EVE had
two sons: the elder of them was named Cain; which name, when it is interpreted,
signifies a possession: the younger was Abel, which signifies sorrow… But Cain
was not only very wicked in other respects, but was wholly intent upon getting;
and he first contrived to plough the ground…” (Josephus, Antiquities, Book
1, Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.)
- Following the lead of Abel, the Patriarchal Fathers (Abraham, Issac, Jacob, & Job) lived pastoral life. Note that Abraham abandoned a quite advanced civilization of ‘Ur/Babylon’ to follow God’s path and lived on a tent (was rich but richness not in the form of capital (storage) but the blessings of cattle); no permanence in settlement evidenced.
- Cain on the other hand followed the path of settlement/possession. His being possessed by greed is soon evidenced in the offering that he brought; he saved the good and brought the worthless፡
“…when
he [Cain] was honored with what grew naturally of its own accord, than he was
with what was the invention of a covetous man, and gotten by forcing the
ground”–(Ibid.)
- This implied that Cain, instead of being content with crops and fruits which grew naturally, he, due to his greed to get more, started farming – one of the reasons his sacrifice was not favored by God.
“However,
he[Cain] did not accept of his punishment in order to amendment, but to
increase his wickedness; for he only aimed to procure everything that was for
his own bodily pleasure, though it obliged him to be injurious to his
neighbors. He augmented his household substance with much wealth, by rapine and
violence; he excited his acquaintance to procure pleasures and spoils by
robbery, and became a great leader of men into wicked courses. He also
introduced a change in that way of
simplicity wherein men lived before; and was the author of measures and
weights. And whereas they lived
innocently and generously while
they knew nothing of such arts, he changed the world into cunning craftiness...Nay,
even while Adam was alive, it came to pass that the posterity of Cain became
exceeding wicked, every one successively dying, one after another, more wicked
than the former. They were intolerable in war, and vehement in robberies; and
if anyone were slow to murder people, yet was he bold in his profligate
behavior, in acting unjustly, and doing injuries for gain.” - (Ibid,
Para. 2)
- The road of doom for the family of Cain is foreseen by his taking farming as a vocation. HENCE WHILE EARTHLY MEN LUSTED AFTER EARTHLY CIVILIZATION, MEN OF GOD WERE MORE OR LESS CONTENT WITH A LIFE OF MONASTIC-TYPE SIMPLICITY AND DEVOTED THE REST OF THEIR TIME ON HEAVENLY MATTERS. (This is not to condemn farming as a vocation; a perfectly pious life is possible as a farmer; however compared to pastoral life farming served as a precursor to unintended life for man – a life of luxury devoid of Godliness as is exhibited in this exceedingly materialistic age. All the wickedness one man does to another is the consequence of the desire of man to live on the shoulders of another – a life way far from the one God intended).
- The sons of Cain, however, were pursuing a life of earthly wisdom. The sudden rise of highly complex civilizations and the reported union of the Children of God (Fallen Angels??) and the Children of Man happened at the same time:
“… የሰው ልጆች ከበዙ በኋላ እንዲህ ሆነ … በእነዚያ ወራት መልከ መልካሞች ደመግቡዎች ሴቶች ልጆች ተወለዱላቸው
… የሰማያት ልጆች እነርሱን አይተው ወደዷቸው … እርስ በእርሳቸውም ኑ ለእኛ ከቃየል ልጆች ሴቶችን እንምረጥ ለእኛም ልጆችን እንውለድ
አሉ … And it came to pass when the children of men had
multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely
daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after
them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the
children of men and beget us children.'” (ሄኖክ 2፦1 (ትርጓሜ))
…
· Hence
all so called ‘civilizations’ of the
ancients that inclined them away from God and towards an earthly life of
comfort and luxury (a system which benefited a few elite while the majority
under a yoke of slavery and suffering ) was taught by these demons (the fallen
children of God) who interbred with humans.
- Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Sumerian, Mayan and Aztec civilizations all erupted fully fledged and show no gradual progress. Before the emergence of these civilizations there were tribal settlements and then suddenly full-blown civilizations appeared out of nowhere. No in between progressive phase is evidenced which was very troubling/unsettling to Archeologists and historical analysts:
“How
does a complex civilization spring full-blown into being? Look at a 1905
automobile and compare it to a modern one. There is no mistaking the process of
‘development’. But in Egypt there are no parallels. Everything is right there
at the start.
The
answer to the mystery is of course obvious but, because it is repellent to the
prevailing cast of modern thinking, it is seldom considered. Egyptian
civilization was not a ‘development’, it was a legacy.”
(John Anthony West, Serpent in the Sky, Harper
and Row, New York, 1979, p. 13.)
“At a
period approximately 3400 years before Christ, a great change took place in
Egypt, and the country passed rapidly from a state of Neolithic culture with a
complex tribal character to one of well-organized monarchy...
At
the same time the art of writing appears, monumental architecture and the arts
and crafts develop to an astonishing degree, and all the evidence points to the
existence of a luxurious civilization. All this was achieved within a
comparatively short period of time, for there appears to be little or no
background to these fundamental developments in writing and architecture.”
(W. B. Emery, Archaic Egypt, Penguin Books, London, 1987, p. 38.)
- From where did these civilizations get their wisdom and such advanced technological insights?? The answer is found in the book of Genesis and Enoch – The source of this forbidden ‘wisdom’ both to the ancient civilizations as well as to that of the present one are demonic entities who are responsible for leading man down the wrong path:
“… ያን ጊዜ ሚካኤልና ገብርኤል ዑራኤልና ሱርያል
በዚህ ዓለም በግፍ የፈሰሰ ብዙ የሰው ደምን … በዚህ ዓለም የሚሰራ ግፍን ሁሉ አዩ … ለጌታቸው ለንጉሱ እንዲህ አሉት … የአማልክት
አምላክ የነገስታት ንጉስ አንተ ነህና … አንተ ሁሉን መርምረህ ታውቃለህና … ከአንተም ሊሰወር የሚቻለው የለምና … አዛዝኤል ያደረገውን
እይ … በዚህ ዓለም ግፉን ሁሉ እንዳስተማረ … በሰማያት የሚሰሩትን በዓለም የተሰወሩትን እንደገለጠ እይ … And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael(??), and Gabriel…
said to the Lord of the ages…Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught
all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were
(preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn…”(ሄኖክ 2፦27 ትርጓሜ) …
(Note that the false Alien
Myth (exo-theology) nowadays fuelled and propagated/sustained by Hollywood
was suggested following these unexplainable observations. Of course the Alien myth is a huge lie and the
purported aliens are nothing but demons/fallen angels)
- The Israelites (in sharp contrast to every other people that lived around them) lived a tribal (so called ‘primitive’ in the eyes of worldly people) life; had no king to rule over them; followed the Ten Commandments and God every now and then raised leaders/judges who exercised judgment, punished the wicked, defended the people against periodic attacks of Gentiles (አህዛቦች). This was God’s will and apparently shows the state of societal life - a life of monastic simplicity with little regard to earthly needs and complete reliance on for survival - God approved for humanity. Yet they wanted the ways of the Gentiles and wanted a king appointed over them in spite of the expressed disapproval of God; However, He complied with their wishes.
“የእስራኤል
ሰዎች ሁሉ በአንድነት ተሰብስበው ወደ ሳሙኤል ወደ አርማቴም መጡ፡ እንዲህም አሉት፦ ‘ … እንደ አህዛብ ሁሉ የሚፈርድልን ንጉስ
አንግስልን’ … እንዲህም ባሉት ጊዜ ሳሙኤል ወደ እግዚአብሔር ጸለየ። እግዚአብሔርም ሳሙኤልን አለው ‘በእነርሱ ላይ እንዳልነግስ
እኔን ናቁ እንጅ አንተን አልናቁምና በሚሉህ ነገር የሕዝቡን ቃል ስማ … ነገር ግን ጽኑ ምስክርን መስክርባቸው በእነርሱም ላይ
የሚነግሰውን የንጉሡን ሥርዓት ንገራቸው’ … ሳሙኤልም የእግዚአብሔርን ቃል ሁሉ ንጉሥን ለፈለጉ ሕዝብ ነገራቸው። እንዲህም አለ፦
‘በእናንተ ላይ የሚነግሠው የንጉሡ ሥርዓት ይህ ነው ወንዶች ልጆቻችሁን ወስዶ ሰረገላ ነጅዎችና ፈረሰኞች ያደርጋቸዋል … እርሻውንም
የሚያርሱ እህሉንም የሚያጭዱ ፍሬውንም የሚለቅሙ የጦር መሣሪያውንና የሰረገሎቹንም ዕቃ የሚሰሩ ያደርጋቸዋል ሴቶች ልጆቻችሁንም ወስዶ
ሽቱ ቀማሚዎችና ወጥ ቤቶች አበዛዎችም ያደርጋቸዋል … እናንተም ባሪያዎች ትሆኑታላችሁ በዚያ ቀን ለእናንተ ከመረጣችሁት ከንጉሣችሁ
የተነሳ ትጮኻላችሁ በእነዚያም ወራት እግዚአብሔር አይሰማችሁም። ለራሳችሁ ንጉሥን መርጣችኋልና’” 1ሳሙ 8፦1-ፍጻሜ
- One of the temptations of Christ wherein the devil proposed to give Him all the kingdoms of the world after showing Him all their glory and might reveals to us who is in fact in charge of the earthly city and what one has to do in order to be successful in it. Pursuing the path of ‘progress’ in furthering the interests of greedy nations who in the name of patriotism seek to squash their neighbors has never been among the ‘tasks of the day’ checklist of pious Christians. Although prophet Daniel of Old Testament and Joseph of Armatia both held public offices, it was a life of exemplary service not a lucrative career that they were after. Moreover, their lives (especially that of prophet Daniel amply demonstrates what awaits just around the corner for those determined to go high up… an obligation to bow for the image of the government, i.e. sell one’s soul or ran the risk of ending up sharing a room with a bunch of lions. After all Our Lord’s saying should not be taken lightly … ‘it is better for camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven’ ማር 10፦25.
- After the rise of Christianity and becoming the religion of the royal courts, during the time of Constantine, the Roman Empire which was very advanced and highly ‘civilized’ declined. And all the while the Roman Catholic Church[1] was in charge of the kingdoms of Europe, the life of the people remained relatively simple, down to earth, and the era of capitalism did not rise until the Roman Church lost its control over the western world. Thus where Christianity reigned, modern conceptualization of civilization characterized by technological machineries, etc, was relatively not encouraged.
- It was this simplicity and religious piety exhibited in every sphere of societal life during the medieval times that ‘modern’ historians inappropriately label the dark ages. However, this tag is circumstantial and highly open to debate. From a Christian perspective it is the present age that should rightfully be labeled a dark and primitive age. Man has increasingly become more like a baby surrounded by bewildering amount of sophisticated equipments that make it passive and receptively swallow the finished product without caring to know how it was made. Let us not forget, it is not the amount of sophisticated machines an individual is surrounded with that determines the extent to which one is civilized.
- Similarly the time after Emperor Fasil wherein he cast all Jesuits and other foreign emissaries out of the country is called the dark age of Ethiopia by some scholars. True it is difficult to get any record of the events that took place during that time. However, orthodox Christians feel that the strong stance taken by the Emperor who was determined not to give in to persuasions and manipulations of the Jesuits (unlike his father) and thus preferring religious sanctity over technological progress was a decisive event that salvaged the religious and cultural integrity of the country. This is yet another clue that demonstrates the present conception of history is written from the point of view of Atheism and materialism. Consequently, the period of history where atheism and materialism were ill-developed is portrayed as primitive, dark, etc whereas an increasingly ignorant yet materially over saturated society is pictured in positive light.
- In fact capitalism is associated with the rise of Protestantism which provided a conducive atmosphere for greed and investment to flourish. (Read the book - Capitalism and the Protestant Ethic). Furthermore, the rise of protestant kingdoms/countries provided a safe base for occultists – the founding fathers of the modern Atheistic and materialistic world - who, until then, had been relentlessly hunted by the Roman Catholic Inquisition.
- Even nowadays Protestants –pseudo Christians - rapidly rise to prominent positions in capitalist systems since they are typically suited to such systems. It is enough to glance at what happened in our country with the introduction of capitalist system in 1991 G. C. (Ever wonder why western powers cry out whenever protestant evangelists get persecuted by governments of third world nations – the recent case being Eritrea? Apparently for those who look a little closer, citizens who get converted to Protestantism somehow lose their nationalistic/patriotic feelings and are more inclined towards acting as mercenaries. Kenya, Nigeria and more recently South Africa, are examples of protestant dominated countries that are NGO lovebirds and act as a base for western cultural influence.
- That the Kingdom of Israel soon fell into idolatry under the reign of Solomon is testimony that kingdoms characterized by acquisition of capital are inherently irreconcilable to the Way of God. In contrast, demonic influence soon creeps into such civilizations as they are bound to be corrupted once they start down the path of earthly lust and dominance.
- Hence the more reliant man becomes on the fruits of his works, the less he will submit to The Will of God. When man devises ways that enable him to control nature, suddenly he does not have any unpredictable phenomenon at his hand; consequently he ceases to submit to the Will of God; starts to feel like a god himself in charge of his own destiny thus rebelling at God. On the other hand, societies which rely on nature inevitably put God before them as do pastoralists and, to a lesser extent, farmers (they have to rely on rain for life which makes them realize of their weak and vulnerable nature).
- Most of the so called products of technology such as telephone, TV, radio, electricity, computers, when their ‘inventors’ are examined, one is astonished at the fact that they are unanimously associated with witchcraft, divination, and magic. Tesla, Einstein, Newton, Copernicus, Thomas Edison … all dabbled with the occult.
“…that Newton was a member of one or more of the secret
societies warring against God and the human race, his involvement and the
circumstances surrounding his involvement with the occult art of alchemy remove
such doubt completely… especially to those who have some knowledge of the
occult, that Newton was a secret-society initiate and adept. (Sir Isaac Newton
and Modern Astronomy, pp.4)
The
Illuminated Ones were very successful in various ways to discredit Christianity
and establish their own agenda… The advancement of technology has greatly added
to the fulfillment of their goals. Some of the greatest advancements in
technology have come through Illumined minds such as Thomas Edison (who was
both Jewish and a Rosicrucian), and Nikola Tesla who were friends and
co-workers. Edison's daily associate was the Freemason George E. Stringfellow.
The
Illumined Ones receive their illumination through various channels which
correspond incidentally to the Hindi forms of salvation. Drugs, dances,
channeling, rituals, and intuitive knowledge are methods to be enlightened or
illumined. These types of activities have characterized the Mystery Schools
since Ancient Egypt, Ancient India, and Ancient Babylon. Christianity would
call illumination under many circumstances "demon possession." Nikola
Tesla was quite open that his achievements (and some have called him the
"greatest inventor" ever) came from intuitive knowledge. Other
scientists have also received their ideas from some outside source of
illumination.” (Be Wise as Serpents, pp. 382)
- So, does having a car, modern furniture, computer, TV and all other spoils of ‘modern technology’ at our disposal make us civilized? What does it mean to be civilized? Do people who are physically malnourished, poor, hungry constitute uncivilized (primitive) society? True, technology does make life easier. But does having an easy life necessarily correspond with being civilized?
- On the contrary, people who truly become more and more intellectual (spiritual wisdom) tend to abandon material necessities and focus on simpler living. Obsession with material comforts is obviously the characteristic of a less civilized society. (Take into account the rap culture that consistently pursues and exhibits unworthy materials).
- The world is sadly producing a generation which is far less intelligent, far less focused with intrinsic riches like the fine arts, religious morality and abandonment of egocentric world view; is far more addicted to cheap time wasting techno-toys, videogames, cars, etc. They work 20+ hours so as to earn more to buy these toys and momentarily enjoy fleeting pleasures; and then go back to work some more! It is this so called advancement that characterizes western nations that we are supposed to mimic. We are supposed to abandon our so called primitive (we have no idea what makes it primitive) culture and blindly copy the western mentality (a counter culture of primitive animalistic sports/soccer, Athletics …/, Rock music, degenerate pornography and the bizarre child-like world of Hollywood).
- Seemingly flourishing civilizations which were observed after they were taken over by Christianity seem to contradict this thesis; but in fact these instances also indirectly confirm the fact that the world view inherent in Christianity inevitably leads men to abandon egotistic ambitions in favor of a more monastic-type simple life. Take Ethiopia for instance, although originally the government was visibly pagan, after conversion it became an overtly Christian country during the time of Ezana and Saizana /Christened Abraha & Atsbaha/ in 4 A.D. The civilization continued to flourish for several centuries before it finally weakened due to external influence. Yet it reappeared in other forms and still continued for a couple of centuries more. Does this show earthly civilizations could be the work of the men of God (As with the case of the golden era of Solomon of Israel characterized by fame and glamour)? Not necessarily! Most post-Christian architectural wonders are almost entirely churches. Had not Ahmed Gragn destroyed it, we would have inherited a unique church built almost entirely out of gold? Every region of the country we go to, we see traces of a generation which has chosen to exhibit its level of advancement by divesting all its resources, body and soul, to building churches, which through their magnificence, glorify God. unlike the ‘Taj Mahal’ of India or the innumerable emperors of Rome and Greece who have built portraits of themselves in their zeal to make themselves immortal/transcend death, we find several kings who live on tents or other shelters which are hard to differentiate from the peasants hats whom they are ruling. On the contrary tradition is filled with stories of Ethiopian Kings abandoning their throne willingly to become ordinary monks. All the notoriety and egotistic zeal to attain fame and glamour characteristic of pre-Christian Ethiopia (note the erection of the Obelisks) is markedly absent after the adoption of Christianity.
We have unfortunately been born into an age where our every day preoccupations are saturated with artificially constructed social problems which seem too childish to matter for the medieval mind. The screams of our material problems which daily swarm through our minds are increasingly swallowing the more relevant spiritual issues into the background. And being a member of this unprivileged generation, we may indeed find it difficult to isolate ourselves from our surroundings and develop some sort of immunity from this social calamity of materialism. Nevertheless, we should at least recognize that the true and ideal life that the Lord had instilled for us is a life of hermetic and ascetic simplicity. Consequently we should cease accusing our monastic tradition and the desert fathers and instead should look up to them for their prayers and spiritual guidance. As the saying goes … ‘if one is not able to run, at least he should clap for the one who could’.
But
more importantly, does one society have
to put one rock over another in order to be considered civilized? Does it
have to be obsessed with materialistic needs and strive on looks to be taken as
advanced? Is an empty stomach that bad? …
‘ጠላታችንን ድህነትን ተረት እናደርጋለን!’ … Is poverty our real enemy? We thought for
us Christians the enemy was the devil; we thought poverty was actually our
friend which reminds us our vulnerability and dependence on God for our very
existence… thus leading us down the path of humble submission to the
Will of God. We thought one was to shun material things and seek suffering of
the cross in order to go through the narrow path less traveled.
Furthermore,
modern trends are showing us that we do not necessarily have to flock
sheep-like abiding by this perspective only – a point of view termed by modern
day analysts as a euro-centric world view. As a number of historical
philosophers have made abundantly clear, this is but one interpretation of the
concept of civilization. Euro-centricity
demands the presence of splendid buildings, and some other physical remnants to
exist in order to accept a society as civilized. And by this account
African tribal life which does not emphasize outward expression of wisdom
obviously fails to be counted as an advanced society through European
spectacles. But recently historians such as Ashanti through their Afro-centric
world view (which stresses advanced societal life can be evidenced in African
tribes which manifest their wisdom through advanced cultural heritage and oral
tradition) are advocating the re-examining of what they perceive as an unfair
belittling of African and Asian traditions.
With all this evidence in consideration, is
the Orthodox Church supposed to defend her stance and say she was not the cause
of poverty every time a ‘capitalist-protestant’ inspired finger (attack) is
repeatedly pointed at Her? Is
poverty such a bad thing for us to sternly demonstrate that we are contributing
for ‘progress’ Shouldn’t we be proud of remaining poor firmly establishing our
lives upon the true faith once delivered to the Saints instead of selling our
souls for earthly riches? We wonder…
As for
us, we believe a resilient yes should be the answer. Yes we do prefer to honor
our saints; we do not till the land on
spiritual holydays… if that contributed to Ethiopia’s ‘poverty’, SO BE IT!
After all, Christianity is the religion of the poor and the poor in spirit (not
the ones who run rampant chasing after earthly glory and wealth) shall inherit
the Kingdom of Heaven even if they remain outcasts in this earthly one… are we
wrong?
Lastly,
we shall depart with the wonderful words of an Axum high priest who, in the
presence of a foreigner who apparently was astonished to see a high priest of
such a prestigious church living in woeful conditions, responded by saying ‘THE LORD MADE US POOR ON PURPOSE SO THAT
WE WOULDN’T GO ASTRAY LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD…’
“ወንድሞቻችን ሆይ ወደ መንፈሳዊ ጥበብ ወደ መንፈሳዊ ኃይል ወደ መንፈሳዊ ተዘምዶ እንዴት እንደጠራችሁ እወቁ … ‘ጥበቡ እንደ ሰሎሞን እንደ ሲራክ ያለ ነው … እገሌ ጥበበኛ ነው’ ያሉት እንደሆነ ‘መክሮ አስተምሮ ጠላቴን ያጠፋልኛል መንግስቴን ያጸናልኛል’ ብሎ ይሻዋል … እርሱ ግን ይህን ሳይሻ ወደ መንፈሳዊ ጥበብ እንደጠራችሁ ዕወቁ … ‘ኃይሉም እንደ ጌዴዎን እንደ ሶምሶን እንደ ዮፍታሔ ያለ ነው … እገሌ ኃይለኛ ነው’ ያሉት እንደሆነ ‘ክንድ ይኾነኛል ጠላቴን ያደክምልኛል’ ብሎ ይሻዋል … እርሱ ግን ይህን ሳይሻ ወደ መንፈሳዊ ኃይል እንደጠራችሁ ዕወቁ … ‘ተዘምዶውም እንደ አብርሃም እንደ ኢዮብ ያለ ነው … እገሌ ዘመዳም ነው’ ያሉት እንደሆነ ‘ጥግ ይኾነኛል አንድ በር ሁለት በር ይይዝልኛል’ ብሎ ይሻዋል … እርሱ ግን ይህን ሳይሻ ወደ መንፈሳዊ ተዘምዶ እንደጠራችሁ ዕወቁ …”
(1 ቆሮ 1፦26 (ትርጓሜ))
“… እንግዲህ … ብልህ ሰው በጥበቡ አይመካ … ኃይለኛ በኃይሉ አይመካ … ባለጸጋ በብልጽግናው አይመካ … የሚመካ ሰው በዚህ ይመካ … እግዚአብሔርን ዕወቁት ልብም አድርጉት …”
1 ሳሙ 2፦9
|
ወስብሐት ለእግዚአብሔር
ደጋፊ ምንባባት፦
- “አሁንም አንች ቅምጥል ተዘልለሽ የምትቀመጭ ‘እኔ ነኝ ከእኔም በቀር ሌላ የለም …’ የምትይ ይህን ስሚ አሁን ግን በአንድ ቀን እነዚህ ሁለት ነገሮች በድንገት ይመጡብሻል” ኢሳ 47፦8
- “ከዝሆን ጥርስ በተሰራ አልጋ ላይ ለሚተኙ በምንጣፋቸው ደስ ለሚሰኙ ከበጎችም መንጋ ጠቦትን ከጋጥም ውስጥ ጥጃን ለሚመገቡ ከበገናው ድምፅ ጋር አስተባብረው ለሚያጨበጭቡ ሰዎች ይኸውም የማያልፍ ለሚመስላቸው … በጽዋ የቀላ ወይን ለሚጠጡ እጅግ ባማረ ሽቱም ለሚቀቡ በዮሴፍ ስብራት ለማያስቡ ወዮላቸው” አሞ 6፦4
- “ባለጠጋ ሰው ለራሱ ጠቢብ የሆነ ይመስለዋል አስተዋይ ድሃ ግን ይመረምረዋል” ተግ 4፦11
- “ከእኔ አስቀድመው በኢየሩሳሌም ከነበሩት ሁሉ ይልቅ ብዙ የበጎችና የከብቶች መንጋዎች ነበሩኝ … ብርንና ወርቅን ለራሴ ሰበሰብሁ … የወይን ጠጅ ጠማቂዎችንና አሳላፊዎችንም አበዛሁ … ከሁሉ ይልቅ ከበርሁ … እነሆ ሁሉ ከንቱ ነፋስንም እንደ መከተል ነበር … ከፀሐይ በታችም ትርፍ አልነበረም” መክ 2፦8
- “ድሃውን ስለ ድህነቱ ይንቁት ዘንድ አይገባም ኃጢአተኛውንም ሰው ስለ ባለጸግነቱ ያከብሩት ዘንድ አይገባም” ሲራ 10፦23
- “ለሁለት ጌቶች መገዛት የሚቻለው አገልጋይ የለም ያለዚያ አንዱን ይወዳል ሁለተኛውንም ይጠላል ወይም ለአንዱ ይታዘዛል ለሁለተኛውም አይታዘዝም እንግዲህ ለእግዚአብሔርና ለገንዘብ መገዛት አትችሉም” ማቴ 6፦24
- “ሰው
አለሙን
ሁሉ
ቢገዛ
ነፍሱንም
ቢያጣ
ለሰው
ምን
ይረባዋል?”
ማቴ
16፦26
- “በእሾህም መካከል የወደቀው ቃሉን ሰምተው የባለጠግነት ዐሳብ የኑሮም መቆርቆር የተድላና የደስታ መጣፈጥም የሚያስጨንቃቸውና ፍሬ የማያፈሩ ናቸው” ሉቃ 8፦14
- “ስለምትበሉትና ስለምትጠጡት ለሰውነታችሁም ስለምትለብሱት አትጨነቁ ነፍስ ከምግብ ትበልጣለችና ሰውነትም ከልብስ ይበልጣልና” ሉቃ 12፦24
- “እንደ ስጋ ብትኖሩ ትሞታላችሁ” ሮሜ 8፦13
- “እላችኋለሁ በመንፈስ ኑሩ እንጅ የሥጋችሁን ፈቃድ አታድርጉ ሥጋ መንፈስ የማይሻውን ይሻልና … የሥጋ ስራው ይታወቃል እርሱም ዝሙት ርኩሰት መዳራት ጣዖት ማምለክ ሥራይ ማድረግ መጣላት ኩራት የምንዝር ጌጥ ቅናት ቁጣ ጥርጥር ፉክክር ምቀኝነት መጋደል ስካር ይህንም የመሰለ ሁሉ ነው … ይህን የሚያደርግ የእግዚአብሔርን መንግስት አያይም” ገላ 5፦16
- “በእውነት ባልቴት የሆነች ብቻዋን የምትኖር ተስፋዋ እግዚአብሔር ነው ሌሊትና ቀንም በጸሎት ተፀምዳ ትኖራለች በጨዋታ ተድላ የምታደርግ ግን በሕይወቷ ሳለች የሞተች ናት” 1ጢሞ 5፦5
- “ነገር ግን በኋላ ዘመን ክፉ ጊዜ እንደሚመጣ ይህን ዕወቅ ሰዎች ራሳቸውን የሚወዱ ገንዘብንም ሚወዱ … ከእግዚአብሔር ይልቅ ተድላን የሚመርጡ ይሆናሉ”
2ጢሞ 3፦1
- “ሙሴም በአደገ ጊዜ የፈርዖን የልጅ ልጅ እንዳይባል በእምነት እንቢ አለ ለጊዜውም በኀጢአት ከሚገኝ ደስታ ይልቅ ከእግዚአብሔር ሕዝብ ጋር መከራ መቀበልን መረጠ” ዕብ 11፦25
- “ጻድቅ ሎጥም እያየና እየሰማ አብሯቸውም እየኖረ በክፉ ሥራቸው ከዕለት ወደ ዕለት ጻድቅት ነፍሱን ያስጨንቋት ነበር” 2ጵጥ 2፦8
[1] The Roman Catholic Church is a more authentic
tradition-based church not unlike to our Orthodox Church. Though there are some
theological differences, in almost all societal issues our cause is essentially
identical with the Roman Catholic cause…
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