Big Ideas that Killed God and Kings

Big Ideas that Killed Dogmatic Religion and Kings. If you have no basic understanding of any, you might as well be a 14th Century man or woman. You will buy into a slick snake-oil salesman who will sell you air: Just say "Amen" and you will get what you want. I have come to deliver you from the killers. He has to be in power because of oil. --The Earth Revolves around the Sun --Evolution --Quantum Mechanics --Probability, Uncertainty and Randomness --Democracy --Monetary System, Stock Market and Entrepreneurship --Mind and Body Non-duality --Chaos Theory, Complexity and Emergence

Biblical Quotes Hostile to Women

Biblical quotes hostile to women: ---Genesis 3:6 ---Exodus 22:18 ---1 Corinthians 11:3, 8-9 ---1 Timothy 2: 11-14 I grew up feeling women were unique and different. But I never would have used any of the language used re. women in the so-called holy book. Mind you, there are plenty of good stuff in the book. That is why people like Thomas Jefferson re-wrote it in The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (commonly called, The Jefferson Bible) in which he took away all the contradictions and miracle acts, leaving only the Human Philosopher

Eclipse party Starts Here

Witchcraft and Religiosity: What is the Difference?

The Catholic Bishop of Kampala urged the vendors of Owino Market to stay away from witchcraft. That sent my mind buzzing with questions: Did I read the same line before as the white man came denigrating our way of life? What is witchcraft about, anyway? 

The description "Witchdoctor" has a dark and disparaging undertone to it. So, I would rather refer to such a person as a medicine man or woman. His or her pratice is often referred to as "witchcraft." Again, a description underscoring the negative perception. Basically, a medicine wo/man wears many hats: S/he is a psychotherapist, a pharmacist, a physician and a counselor. A true medicine wo/man works on the mind, the body and relationships--key areas where we humans often fail to navigate our way through successfuly. 

I posit that the good bishop's efforts are in the same areas as the medicine man, and he uses no less arcane tricks to achieve his ends. In the picture we see him wearing a white dress with a purple band and cap. On his neck hangs a man on the cross. When he performs in his church, he does things that are no less magical than the medicine person. He asks his audience to eat of the body of a Jew and drink of his blood in the forms of some wafer bread and wine which then makes the Jewish Jesus to enter the soul of the receiver. That is magic. Next time I will ask for a bottle of Merlot or Malbec for it to be worth my time--for then will I be able to see a change in me after downing a bottle. 

The medicine man equally does his things: sounds, images, concoctions and what have you to change the states and circumstances of his clients.

I would rather not have the medicine man kill somebody in order to harvest the scrotum of a young lad  to feed to a client to enhance a failing libido, for example. He has enough power and other tools that can effectively "cure" the mind of his client. If the libido problem is physical, a good medicine man should be able to concoct some herbs. But killing, per se, is not something foreign in the traditions of the bishop's line of trade either. The Christ basically committed suicide to offer his body and blood. How could a God get killed by mere mortals?

  

What Lions Do: What is the Message?

The Quislings Are Coming! The Quislings Are Coming!

In Museveni's world-view of convenience and make-belief, the problems of the Acoli begins and ends with Joseph Kony, the LRA Supremo. He has pumped this line of farce into people's heads such that even the ones that should know better in the region parody the same song and dance. Why is that? 

First, in the region there are the spaced out ignoramous who possibly dont't know why they are even on this earth. They just exist and take anything that comes--thanks to the break-up of whatever semblance of pre-1980s social structures. These are the ones who probably cast their Museveni/NRM votes in the belief that Museveni saved them from Kony and heralded peace. 

Then there are the mentally defeated who were exhausted from the chaos that prevailed and a respite was welcome. Any meme could be slid into their consciousness which the NRM/Museveni obliged with an occupation army and well ochestrated propaganda techniques.

The interesting groups are the mixed of characters Museveni has dubbed the"progressives" ( Museveni-woos-Acholi ) at a pretentious wedding ceremony of one of them. These, in his mind, are replacing the "bad leaders," the negative forces who have stymied his plans for the Acoli. Many wonder how in a short period of time Acoli could turn such loyalists to a man who was shunned not a while ago. This is not something new and peculair in history. The Stockholm Syndrome can help us out here, where in Freudian fashion the victim adopts the aggressor's values in order to protects his or her ego. The aggresor then poses not a threat. To some of us, these are quislings in the manner of the Norwegian collaborators with the Nazis in 1942-1945.

Many of us who think Museveni is a common village thug are not into the hatred business. Hatred would be giving away our power to the manner of the man. We would be selling our souls to the devil and depravity. We are, however, convinced that the attrocities that spawned the emergence of Kony must be kept forefront until it is addressed conclusively. That is what we stand for and will impart on generations to come.

Mr. Museveni may say he has his so-called "progressives" and he may now embark on advancing his vision for the Acoli.We don't want his vision. We want our vision as was wonderfully articulated by one Ateng in the Monitor commentary:

Ateng • 2 days ago

But developing Acholi land or northern Uganda as a whole does not necessarily call for land transfer from the indigenous people to the so called investors! In the north we are not short of business and management acumen owing to our long time background in state affairs management. So let all development funds from government and donors be channeled to local investment initiatives/coperative societies. That aside, in the north we have a different perspective of lifestyle and livelihood so much that whereas M7 is intending to make us entirely herds men by supplying calves like he has done elsewhere, we want to be professional sportsmen, world class models, professors, public speaker, actors, acclaimed writers, researcher in all disciplines etc because thats where our in-born potentialities are vested. Thats where our calling is. Therefore whoever is willing to help us should rather focus on developing our envisioned service based economy. We already have formidable infrastructure that can support our aspirations and perhaps we only need someone to allow us be what we want to be rather than super imposing sugarcane growing on us! After all even most of the sugarcane workers at scoul and kinyara are northerners but non of them has ever returned home rich or any better. Lastly, we cannot be compelled to convert to nrm as a pre-condition to development. We have already suffered for 26years under museveni and we can afford to wait for the few more years remaining for him to go in 2016. I know that God has a reason why he has still kept us the Luos of Uganda alive all this time despite the strains and stresses previously imposed on us in concetration camps and cross-fires.

As the writer said, we want to cultivate professionals in various fields. We want small-scale farmers in cooperatives interpersed with medium-sized (not plantations) individual farmers. The investors can buy land in the towns. The rural land is sacrosanct to the Acoli and Luo way of life. That is why every holiday we head to the village to recharge in the quiet under the moon with punctuation of allulations, and sounds of Aguma, Nanga, Adungu and drums.