NOMINALISM IN CHRISTENDOM: AN ABERRATION

One of the prevalent notions in Christendom is that what all Christians share in common is the term Christianity. This notion is nothing but nominalism in Christendom and it is an aberration. Nominalism simply stated is the belief that only particular things exist, and that universals are not entities but only names and do not exist outside the mind. Employing such position in the term Christianity implies that the individual Christian exists on his/her own and has no relationship/obligation to the other members of the Christendom. It is against this notion that this article is based. To repudiate such conception for it is nothing but an aberration to Christianity, for the term Christianity is meaningless unless it is involved in actual human relationships based on virtuous living.

Christianity as held in some quarters is not just a religious terminology used to designate those who believe in the historical Christ rather Christianity is a practical living, a conviction based on charity, shared interest, people on the same journey though in varying degrees, interdependence on one another, ‘people made one by the Spirit’, and bound together in sacrifice. It is an insistence on the cooperation in executing those actions that enhance the beingness of one another and in fighting against those actions that adversely affect the being of the other.

Christianity is not a zero sum game in which one wins and another loses. It is a living in which everyone is connected to everyone and each person plays a necessary role in the cause of building up the body of Christ. No Christian exists or functions in isolation, but instead is an active contributor to the enhancement of the beingness of other people. And so any undue advantage/exploitation of the other person based on the fact that he/she is in dire need of such help amounts to contradiction to the Christian tenets. Some people under the auspices of christenhood have sworn internally and externally that people will not be above them and so engage in all kinds of pull him/her syndrome. The question to be asked such people is this: What have you achieved that you should stop others from excelling or be a barrier to someone else’s progress? What an aberration to Christianity! A tragedy in Christianity!

The world as made by its creator is saturated by His love and so no man can fill his lung much more that it won’t reach his neighbour. All we are and all we have are the products of God’s love and so no one has the right to stop anyone from tapping incessantly from the magnificent love of the creator. If for anything, Christianity is supposed to be a means of helping one another especially the less privileged among us to enjoy the innumerable benefits of love given to us by the creator. And so according to the degree and manner for which one expresses love, he partakes of Christianity; and conversely according to the degree and manner for which one is a Christian, he/she expresses love. This is because it is only when the individual Christian transforms him/herself into a living Christ who is love, that Christianity becomes existential. Little less wonder St. Paul exalted love above all other Christian qualities. (cf. 1cor.13)

Another tendency resulting from nominalism in Christendom is the notion of being a ‘quasi christian’ preferring to stand on the fence and offer a fraction of whatever you are or have in case tomorrow the Christian world becomes an illusion, then you have nothing to lose. This notion or attitude is wrong in capital letters for it is either you are a Christian in the true sense of the term or you are not. Christianity instead is a generous gift from God given and accepted in faith. It is a call to see amidst your own difficulties and challenges, people suffering the same, and share with them your everything, your time, your wealth, your care and concern in love and for love sake.

If you claim to be a Christian and you don’t love God by concretizing this love in improvement and defence of human life, then you’re an impostor. There should be a correlation between the name one bears and his actions and inactions, for as the saying goes, ‘credibility and behaviour are Siamese twin’. This truth matches with Bonhoeffer assertion in the Nazi days that ‘only he who cries out in defense of the Jews dare permit himself to chant the Gregorian’, in the same manner I say, ‘only those who manifest God’s love to the other human person by doing what the Word commands dare call himself a Christian.

Understanding Christianity in a non-nominalist light will help to refine our lives as individual Christians and deepen the depth and vigour to ones selfless service of God and neighbour and feelings of sensitivity and responsibility to his fellow men, Christians and non Christians alike. May we always treasure our Christian calling to love and so perfect our earthly city in charity, mercy, justice and peace in view of the heavenly city. Amen

Sirpeter Aloh (and his evangelical admonitions, 2017)

penlord

 

Ideal: which is the standard?

A glance at how the human person strives to survive in the universe would prompt one to ask: What is this all about? Do people strive toward a purposeful end or are they striving for ‘striving sake’? It seems that most times, people tend just to strive without purpose. This is because they think that life is competitive rather than purposeful, which is nothing but a conscious refusal to call to mind the uniqueness of each human person. This distraction arising from ephemeral composition of others’ existential struggle per se, shouldn’t be, because, each individual’s purpose is different from that of another. But to achieve this purpose, many ideas always come to play in our mind. Some of these ideas seem not to follow the ideal already projected by the mind due to the mixed feeling that it does not correspond to this ideal, or even, they perceive the impossible or the unattainable without knowing that, whatever the mind can conceive is attainable.

With regard to the foregoing, the aim of this write up is to raise the critical question: Of the many ideas that come into our mind, which idea can we say to be the ideal? Relying on the rational method of inquiry, this write up considers the diverse ideas which are the product of the rational nature of the human person that is characterized with curiosity and desire for truth and certainty but has been hampered by inferiority complex which exists within the individual. And so makes him/her ashamed of bringing up his/her idea to the public, thinking that it is not the best or it cannot compete in the society filled with so many ideas presumed to be the ideal.

Now, what is idea and which is the ideal? In answering this question, the meaning of these terms should be put into consideration:

The term ‘idea’ is derived from Latin idea, meaning notion or pattern. According to the Advanced English Dictionary, it is, “the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about or your intension, what you intend to do or a personal view.” Having said that, what is ideal? From the etymological point of view, the term ‘idea’ is from the French ideal, from the Latin idealis (“existing in idea”) hence, ‘ideal’ is the idea of something that is perfect; something that one hopes to attain.  Looking at this definition, one can say that ‘idea’ comes through reasoned thinking, which is a product of perception and learning. It gears towards attaining the purpose of the one who conceived the idea. The idea(s) we conceive is the apparatus or transport that takes us to our purpose.

To kick off an idea isn’t an easy task and being discouraged it’s never the answer at all. Kicking off an idea is difficult because of the fear of one’s idea of not being the best, coupled with discouragement by friends and other members of the society. This is why, it is important to surround oneself with friends that share the same mindset, who are inclined positively towards achieving their purpose on earth; individuals who are not only willing but ready to promote creative and innovative idea, because as the saying goes, ‘creativity and innovation immortalizes.’ 

In life, there is some sort of concomitant dissemination of ideas in the minds of people, but only those who are willing and ready to break records and new grounds, take-up these ideas and work towards it irrespective of the challenges around. Some even make use of the challenges which tend to be a stumbling block for them as a stepping stone. Some on the other hand are discouraged because they feel that their idea has no place in their society.

However, it is important to note therefore that no idea is the ideal because none is the model to the other. This is because one’s idea(s) is an aid for the actualization of one’s purpose in life. Hence, one can actually say that ideas cannot be the same but may be related because of differences in purpose, differences on how reality presents itself to individuals, differences on how individuals understand the reality that presents itself and personal differences. Nevertheless, this does not presuppose that one ought not to learn from others’ ideas. It means that individuals, societies, and nations shouldn’t shy away from their own idea because, no idea is the ideal but every idea is the ideal. This is because those ideas which seem to be ideal, reached the standard in which they are through rational modification and healthy dialogue with other ideas from different individuals, societies, and nations etc.

The great people, society and countries/nations we have today are what they are through the many ideas they generated not by clinging to one particular idea as the ideal. And so, they are proud of their ideas, they understand it, promote it, encourage it and above all embrace it.

Thus, the pivotal question now becomes: What is that idea in your own mind that you think can benefit humanity?  How does it really appear to you? Show it! Stop hiding it. Don’t think of it as not the best because none is the best nor the ultimate. Remember, it is always said that, “ideas rule the world.” Hence, no idea is the ideal but every idea that is beneficial to humanity is the ideal. The idea you think is making way must have passed through series of rational modification before coming to its present state. Why not start doing something little with your idea? Why not make a bold step? Do it because you are unique and that what makes you unique is your purpose and that purpose you must achieve so as to empty yourself before you die.

 

OSINAKACHI AKUMA KALU

PENLORD

THE SPIRIT OF WRITING IN THE 21ST CENTURY

PENLORDS

(Inscribing Transformative Knowledge)

Introduction: Man, from the moment of conception gets the buzz of a welter of experiences that impress on his consciousness structuring his mental frames to form worldviews and perspectives which are the mental windows from where he views the world of his experience. As he gathers experiences that mould his worldview these experiences create stories and messages from where he develops a conscious history.

            The individual relates to the world through the window of his experiences and can only communicate these through his stories and messages. The effect of the experiential impressions on one’s mind is dependent on the structure of his mental categories (mental fertility). It is therefore from this that one forms his personal construct of the world which advertently shapes his personality and social identity (what I call personal identity). One’s personal identity is a direct result of impressionable circumstances which form his internal narratives (self-conception) and are communicated in form of stories and messages. His stories and messages are his internal narratives and his personal identity is his history, the history is the man.

It is usually said, and we however consider it a truism, that one without a history lacks true self-consciousness for the presence of self-consciousness is marked by history making and history is only known through codification and records. Hence Hegel talks of Africa lacking history and consciousness (reason) because history is the exemplification and instantiation of reason.

Posterity have always chided Africa’s past (and even present) for being uncivilized, underdeveloped, poor and lacking concrete history. The reason for this being that unlike the European west and east and the Asian north and south the (sub-Saharan) Africa lacked a tenable and valuable codified history this being the consequence of the lack of a literary spirit and skill. This might be the story of our past but certainly not of today and the future for at every turn are old and young Africans seeking to rewrite their history and forge a new reality for themselves.

                The spirit of writing is the spirit of self-consciousness and self-understanding. It is the evidence of reason alive, of civilisation, of intellectual growth and development. It is therefore true that any epoch that lacks or loses this drive loses its identity, its history and its being. To revive therefore this literary consciousness, is to revive a new world of hope, vision and purpose.

                  In a contemporary world that smacks off materialistic humanism and subjective relativism, we need minds that would not only conceive and think out a genuine story but are also ready to rewrite its conventional ideology with one that is reflective of man's God-given purpose. To do this, we have therefore, to learn the art of writing informed by an art of the mind which transforms into an art of living.

                   Consequently, the Penlords have emerged with the sole objective of inscribing transformative knowledge that would retell our ugly stories and shift our ideological patterns towards the path of intellectual freedom, ontological manifestation and purpose actualisation.

The essence of this write-up is to expose and emphasize on the need to revive the spirit of writing among our people (particularly the youth) to tell their stories and pass across their messages so as to inscribe the change we need in the 21st century.

 Understanding the Spirit of Writing.

Education can be defined as the cultivation of the human spirit (mind) to enable it tap into the spirit of the world and harness universal reality so as to unite with ultimate reality which is man's overarching purpose/quest.

An educated sprit is one that has so harmonised the welter of one's spiritual and existential experiences into an organised order of volitional-rational consciousness that leads to ontological fulfilment (self fulfilment). When the spirit is educated it becomes conscious of history consequent to this there arises the need to codify or record history- this is the birth of the spirit of writing. The spirit of writing is borne out of rational awareness (an educated mind).

An educated mind is truly a self-conscious mind and a self-conscious mind is a historic mind. It is within the historicity of the mind's consciousness that the spirit of writing is born. Therefore for you to raise the spirit of writing in a society you must educate its minds. To write is to think and according the French philosopher Rene Descartes to think is to be (exist). It could therefore be said that since to write is to think and to think is to be (existence/life) it would not be out of place to say that writing codifies, records and immortalises life or being.

The educated mind acts in view of an end (objective). In the case of writing, the spirit of writing which is part of the characteristics of the educated spirit writes for a purpose, to tell a story in order to pass a message across, a message that is intended to cause a change. The spirit of writing therefore propels change. To write is to cause a change and to cause a change in the society is to participate in the process of making the world. A writer is a world maker.

 The Art of Writing.

The art of writing is the skill, processes, methods and ways of passing across your message to your reading audience. To know the art of writing one must learn the art of the mind which is an intellectual training in the act of rigorousness, love for excellence, professionalism, critical thinking, creativity and innovative thinking. For the art of writing involves a systematic and methodical procedure that requires detailed ideological analysis and synthesis. To be able to do this one must therefore cultivate one's mind. To cultivate the mind is to educate the spirit in the acts and processes of critical and creative thinking. To develop the mind in the art of writing the following three things are involved:

1. Constant reading and researching.

2. Meditation.

3. Writing

The third criterion becomes key to learning the art of writing because we learn how to do a thing by doing the thing - faber fabricandum fit. You can only develop your writing skills by constantly writing.

 

 

 A Call to Write.

The call to write is the purpose and vision of the Penlords. Every educated mind is called to write, to codify history - his experiences - for the essence of enlightening others. This is a paramount call to for the Penlords to harness their intellectual potentials and help others actualise theirs. For us the call to write is a call to rigour, excellence, professionalism, innovation, creativity, transformation, development, success and fulfilment. We are called to inscribe transformative knowledge.

Penlords: Written words remain

By the Penlords