Church to blame for our lost sense of shame
What you need to know:
Public prayer in this country is not meant to be an entreaty to whichever deity we profess for the time being.
It is a show for the populace, meant to con the gullible few into believing that their leader is a holy man, or to instil fear in those that would find fault in him.
We have so vulgarised prayer that even when we are meeting to plan and do things inimical to any religious belief system, we begin and end with prayer.
Last Thursday, we had yet another National Prayer Breakfast, an event that brought together notables from all sectors in this country, as well as their friends from elsewhere. Wonderful speeches were made, lots of contrition demonstrated, and the enduring message of forgiveness and change shared. Anyone watching the event without any background would go away convinced that Kenya will never be the same again after the fervent prayers and camaraderie displayed on the day.
FAVOURITE THIEVES
Unfortunately, we know better. We’ve been watching this circus for over a decade and a half. They meet, they hug, they make fun, and they pray. And then they go back to insulting each other in our faces, and urging us to harm the ethno-political ‘other’ in order to spite their leading politician. They hug and kiss in the prayer breakfast then get into their choppers to go and spew the most reprehensible bilge at public rallies across the country.
Religion in this country has been used the same way the mythical rat uses his breath to blow at the limb he has bitten to soothe it and not to wake up the sleeping owner.
It is applied like balm to lull us into a hypnotic trance as the politicians continue to exploit our scarce resources for personal gain.
Religion is used to distract us from pursuing justice when we catch our favourite thieves in the act, robbing the exchequer in a myriad ways.
Public prayer in this country is not meant to be an entreaty to whichever deity we profess for the time being. It is a show for the populace, meant to con the gullible few into believing that their leader is a holy man, or to instil fear in those that would find fault in him. We have so vulgarised prayer that even when we are meeting to plan and do things inimical to any religious belief system, we begin and end with prayer. We are able to justify all these behaviours to ourselves, and to our children, enabling us to sleep very peacefully at night despite committing the worst atrocities known to man.
SIPHON BILLIONS
It is a no-brainer that tonight, a prominent man will go to bed after praying with his family, and dream of all the billions of shillings he has siphoned from public funds meant to buy medicine for sick children, or food for starving Kenyans. Another will sleep well knowing that all is forgiven after masterminding mass slaughter of Kenyans after recent elections.
None of them will have nightmares tonight. They will sleep and wake up in the morning full of joy and excitement as they face another day of looting and planning atrocities.
It used to be that we had a sense of shame, and would be shy to show our faces in public whenever we were accused of things that we would never discuss on the dinner table with our family.
Not anymore. We used to care about life, and would truly mourn lives needlessly wasted. Not anymore. Today, everything can be sanitised by a church appearance, followed by a belligerent press conference at which you dare all and sundry with dire consequences should they so much as accuse you of wrongdoing.
We have lost all sense of shame, and the church has a lot to do with this.
Lukoye Atwoli is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Dean, Moi University School of Medicine; [email protected]
