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Date: 17 Jul 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Subject: Re: war water
Message-ID: <20000717174951.17611.00000714@ng-fn1.aol.com>
References: <8kp79n$9sv$0@pita.alt.net>
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>A big part of the problem that I have with these "religions", Cat, is that
>many people start with their "spells".
>
Casting spells, ie. sorcery, has nothing to do with religion, and it is a
disservice to traditional African religion to form or imply an equation between
the two.
Religion, in its literal meaning, means a tying back to oneness with Prime
Creator, as is evident from the root words re = a turning back + ligare = to
tie or to bind, from which the word derives.
Traditional African religion teaches that in essence we are spiritual beings,
made of the same essence as Prime Creator, back to which we are all on a
journey of return.[1] Religion, in the true sense, African or otherwise,
facilitates this process of reunion with Creator. Sorcery, in contrast, does
nothing of the sort, in fact the opposite.
Confusion arises from the fact that reunion with Creator carries with it the
acquisition of certain spiritual powers and knowledge, the use of which yields
effects akin to magic. Sorcery sometimes relies on spiritual power, although
more usually, the casting of spells requires as much spiritual power as the
mixing of chemicals, ie. none whatsoever.
The true practice of traditional African religion, indeed of any religion, is
incompatible with the practice of sorcery, which by definition involves the
wrongful seeking of advantage using metaphysical means.
All power is morally neutral, including metaphysical power; it is how and with
what intent we use any power that gives it moral quality. The proper use of
metaphysical power serves a religious purpose in the sense in which I have
attempted to clarify; the wrongful use of metaphysical power serves no such
purpose.
While I sympathize with Mr. Denninger's criticisms of these wrongful practices,
I feel I must defend traditional African religion from being equated with
sorcery. Unfortunately, traditional African religion is burdened by many whose
concern is less with the cultivation of iwa pele (good character) than with
learning and using sorcerer's tricks.
Relatedly, I don't imagine that "Christianity" would want to be judged by the
pope who gave religious sanction to the kidnapping and enslavement of Africans,
and to the genocide perpetrated on the original inhabitants of the Americas .
Grisso
[1] See my articles:
1. African Cosmology ( http://TheAfrican.Com/Magazine/Cosmo.htm ); and
2. The Ancient Wisdom in Africa (http://TheAfrican.Com/Magazine/MagAncWis.htm )
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