Heads, hearts, what to do?

by Etse Sikanku

Over a decade ago, I made the decision to attend Presby Boys. The school’s academic reputation was legendary and competition to enter was prohibitively fierce. Presec’s scholarly standards were matched only by its stringent disciplinary records rooted in the ecclesiastical traditions of the Basel mission. Across the entire nation, their reputation preceded them: "The Christian Gentlemen”.

Yet, I never really wanted to go to Presec. What disturbs me though, even more than my inability to attend the school i truly wanted, is why this should matter at all now. Why is it that a decade after SSS, I can’t seem to let go the idea that I was never able to attend my dream school? Well, it’s not like I think about it every day but whenever the discussion comes up, I feel I should have followed my heart rather than my head. Or maybe not.

Decisions are a part of life we have to contend with. I’m once again at a point of making a couple of them and yet again, there are some heart and head choices. The impulse is to follow my heart but the head seems most reasonable. Then again, I don’t want to look back several years from now and wish I had followed one or the other.

What to do?

In order to avoid any “If I had the chance again”, “what ifs” or “should have” thoughts or regrets I decided at one point to follow my heart no matter what. I argued that it was the only way to achieve my peace of mind. I wanted to make heart-felt choices. After all, isn’t that what they always told us? “Follow your heart”; folks will say.

At another time, I thought heads should rule because as a maturing young man, I figured I had to start being responsible. I mean what was the point in making emotional or “heart-felt” choices only to regret them later. My friend Afeseh-Ngwa told me in a conversation yesterday evening to find a balance between the two. That struck me as insightful although we both agreed it’s easier said than done.

So again what to do? I have decided that I’m not mechanical enough to make head decisions. Still, heart induced choices don’t always end up quite the way we idealize them. I could subscribe to either school if I apply myself enough but I think that’s kind of risky. Afeseh’s admonition sounds sensible but who am I kidding?

Here’s where I feel religion comes in. I don’t claim religious piety but I still remember enough from Sunday school to know that we can never go wrong with God. I yearn for a time when I shall be able to surrender enough—actually everything—to Him because the more I try to control and rationalize my actions, the more I keep messing up.

As humans I believe we’re limited in our abilities to see past our very nature. Surely, there’s a Supernatural Being who knows it all. If there’s a God who delights in our happiness and wishes the absolute best for us, then why not surrender to Him? This may very well be the antidote to the heads vs. heart argument. How could I possibly go wrong with God? Right now, these words seem so easy to type out. Whether I’ll be able to follow through is another ball game.

God be with us all.

SIKANKU: “Why all this madness over dust, dung and dross”

By Etse Sikanku

One day, while waiting for class to begin at the University of Ghana I found a Christian leaflet on the lecture floor. It was at a popular lecture hall called Tingi Tingi and I was probably in my junior year or level 300 as we say in Ghana.

You could tell it had been there for a while as it had footwear markings all over and some parts were hardly legible. A voice told me to pick it up. I was a bit hesitant but once I started reading I couldn’t stop. I thought; “wow, everyone should see this.” Back at Sarbah Hall—which for the records is the best hall at the University of Ghana (*wink*)—I copied the contents into my diary. The title of that piece was, “Others may, I cannot.”

So far, my college days at the University of Ghana were the best four years of my life. Legon—as the University is affectionately called—was a blast though it was also a time of great academic, spiritual, and social challenges. In the hallways, we often talked about issues such as democracy, continental unity, imperialism, globalization and other issues of national and global interest.

But in the privacy of our rooms we struggled with other personal issues. Here the debates were often about relationships and sex, whether it was permissible for Christians to tell ‘little’ lies and our anxieties about the future that lay ahead of us. My friends and I were often perplexed by the contradictions between our academic training and our Christian backgrounds. How seriously should we take renaissance men such as Niccolo Machiavelli who said things like “the end justifies the means”? Is it really ok to use a bad means to achieve a good end and so forth? What was permissible in relationships and what was not?

At the time I found “Others may, I cannot” very useful since I was having my own battles with Christianity and peer pressure. I’m thankful to God and whoever wrote that piece (I just found out it came from Deeper Life Church) because what I read helped to settle some of the issues I was wrestling with.

However, till date, I still grapple with similar things. Today was one of those days I began re-considering my now shameful if existent Christian life and life after earth. Gosh, it’s so hard to be Christian in America. Although I previously searched extensively, I couldn’t find a version of the piece I read six years ago anywhere. There were a couple of phrases that stood out to me “…I cannot serve God and mammon” “why all this madness over dust, dung and dross” “…I must not, I will not, I cannot”.

Today the voice that spoke to me more than half a decade ago came back. It told me to google “why all this madness over dust, dung and” …and hey presto I found the document! I read it with the enthusiasm of a candy eating child. This is one of my happiest days in America and I wanted to share the article with you all: Others May, I Cannot.

Circumstances of our birth

By: Afeseh Ngwa Hilary.

I caught myself giving God counsel,
As He consulted with Holy council,

We don't decide what comes with everyday,
We only decide what we do with any day,

Like the circumstances of our birth,
We may be born into dearth,

It is independent of our will,
Only the sanction of the Holy will,

This is for the child in the dark,
Who only knows poverty very stark,

This is for the child in the slumps,
Who lives only on the air in his/her lungs,

This is for the child with a brilliant mind,
This is for the child in the hardest grind,

Who may never be able to read the words I write,
Who has been robbed of every human right,

This is for the child in the womb,
On premature eviction to the tomb,

This is for the child in the heat of cross fire,
Yet alien to the Holy fire,

This is for the child on ten toes,
Who has known only many woes,

This is for the male child with the burdens of a man,
The female child with the pressures of a woman,

This is to the child who has never met love,
And knows not what to do in the face of love,

This is for the child of rape,
Clad in a doubtful drape,

This is for the child without a mother,
The child without a father,

This is for the child with terminal disease,
The child unaccustomed to ease,

This is for the child of violence,
Whose voice has been silence,

This is for the child shut off from opportunity,
The shut door can be an opportunity,

It is for you dear child that I bleed,
It is for you that I weep,
It is for you that in my folly, I question the Holy creed,
It is for you that I wish I another breed,

It is for you that I tried to counsel God,
That every child will be born to peace,
That every child will know the warmth of love,
That every child will have a good father and mother,

It is for you that I tried to plead with God,
That every child will be able to read and write,
That every child will be free of disease,
That every child will have a chance to grow,

It is for you dear child that I entreat the mercies of God,
That every child will have the same opportunity,
That every child will have the same obstacles to challenge growth,
That every child will become something,

And God said to me 'child'
Every child is already something,
No child is a mistake,
Every child is special,
There is a plan for every child,
There is a seed in every child,
There is an indomitable spirit in every child,

Those children, give my love a chance,
They give my compassion a chance,
They give my sacrifice a chance,
They give my grace a chance,

then God went on...
I need a vessel to reach them,
I need vessels to reach them,
One person at a time,
We can reach one child at a time,
With enough vessels,
Like a million tiny ripples,
Together we can build a mighty wave,
And set in motion an impregnable tide,
To begin to overturn the assaults on children,
Together we can begin to give them a chance,
I want your partnership, not that I need it,
but you get to know me best on my JOB...
A tough job but fear not, I will be with you always...

And I said Father I believe, equip me and use me,
According to your will...
You can say yes too...be a vessel...
Child abuse can be retired from our world...

In Support of the Pope's Abstinence Stance

The Catholic Church is unwilling to promote condom use among its followers.

By: Eche Sica

When Pope Benedict XVI visited Africa a few months ago, he unequivocally announced his abhorrence for contraceptives. This was scarcely-surprising considering the late affable John Paul II’s, insistence on abstinence as a preferred method in the fight against HIV/AIDS. But the backlash that followed was hardly predictable as more than a few talking heads wasted no words in denouncing the Pontiff’s utterances.

To begin with, many are willing to forget that one of the most widely accepted anti-HIV campaign messages is the ABC strategy. It is a fact that this strategy has the blessings of many governments, experts, and the United Nations. As we can see, condoms are actually the third, NOT first, in the ‘ABC’ pecking order.

To be sure, the ABC strategy advocates that one should Abstain first, remain Faithful to their partners, and, lastly, use Condoms. Having said that, I’m not unaware of emerging debates within the corridors of reproductive health about the efficacy/ineffectiveness of this strategy, but, to date, no one has proposed a better modus operandi.

Janet Fleischman (who consulted for UNAIDS) went further to suggest a DEF strategy with, D standing for "disclosure, "E" lack of access to education, and F for female-controlled prevention methods. While Fleischman and the UN should be applauded for continuous efforts in HIV prevention, this addition/alternative, ‘DEF’ does not completely abolish abstinence as the primary means of prevention.

Shouldn’t our efforts be focused on the first option—Abstinence—since it has been recognized by all as the surest or most potent way of preventing HIV/AIDS?

Let me give some support to this position. If the proposition is that the Vatican’s doctrine increases infection, then one would expect to see higher rates in highly populated Catholic areas. Well, the statistics indicate that the opposite is quite true.

Consider this: Of the top ten nations where AIDS is prevalent in Africa, only Lesotho can be considered a largely Catholic populated nation. Equatorial Guinea which has one the largest Catholic population in Africa (93.52%) belongs to the low infection rate categories (3.4%).

Available statistics indicate that Angola, another predominantly Catholic nation, has an infection rate of 2.1%--one of the lowest on the continent. The same goes for other Catholic Countries such as Burundi. Even in Ghana where Catholics make up 33% of some regional populations, the infection rate stands at a mere 3.1%.

However, countries with low Catholic populations such as Botswana and Swaziland have some of the highest infection rates, i.e. 23.9% and 26.1% respectively (see CIA World Fact book). If we’re going to go berserk and call the Pope names because he wouldn’t condone our indulgences, we should at least be honest enough to tell people the hard facts.

Clearly, the prevailing idea that Catholicism is the reason why AIDS cases continue to rise falls flat and should be treated as nothing, but an anti-Catholic propaganda.

According to a report in the Washington Post, certain states in the US have shown that abstinence messages were “more likely to persuade black junior high school students to put off initiating sex…” We are also aware of the effectiveness of abstinence messages in reducing the HIV rates in countries like Uganda. So the issue of condemning fidelity as unrealistic is really moot.

After all, let’s imagine—it’s not going to happen, though—just for a second that the Vatican renounces its stance on condoms (say) tomorrow. Does that mean we’re going to see an automatic reduction in AIDS figures?

There will be some people out there who will want to go it ‘raw’ no matter what. As they like to say “Why eat Banana with the peals on”. Are we going to blame this too on the Papacy? I believe that sex is one of the most private, if not enticing of all human feelings; so I refuse to be judgmental. But to be honest, the real reason behind this whole circus is because we ignore one of the most basic rules for any HIV prevention campaign: self control. This is a disservice to the millennial generation.

With that said, the Holy See should be congratulated for at least taking an emphatic stand on such a controversial issue. The rage against Benedict XVI must have faded by now. So let’s all get our breath back and agree that since sex is a precious thing it should be enjoyed in the best way-under the best circumstances-with the best consequences.

God is not a politician

By: Edward Amartey-Tagoe, Accra, Ghana.

People have ended up in deep trouble for attempting to broadcast their religious faith in areas where such acts are prohibited. One of such people is Ghanaian Daniel Baidoo who was sentenced to 25 years imprison, in Lybia, for preaching Christianity.

Another instance happened in Afghanistan not too far from Al-Quadafi’s territories. Some American soldiers distributed Bibles printed in Pashto and Dari languages—all Afghanistan’s main languages. Their great commission acts, however, have landed them in trouble—thanks to Aljazeera, Brian Hughes and the Law.

The main point I want to highlight in this post is not about the motives behind the propagation of the Christian religion in both cases. My argument is rather centered on whether or not it is right to do something that may seem right to an individual although it is well known that such an activity is illegal within the province of practice? There is no single doubt that the propagators of the acts—considered criminal—in these scenarios were very much aware of the consequences.

By kind courtesy of the Vice-President Mahama of Ghana, Mr. Baidoo was granted some sort of clemency after he had served seven out of his twenty-five-year sentence. The act may be right, but the place made the act wrong. This is what some staunch followers of Christianity refuse to comprehend. The General Order Number One is a military regulation that expressly forbids “proselytizing of any religion, faith or practice” especially in a predominantly Islamic territory such as Afghanistan.

Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff cleared the air by saying “from the United States' military's perspective, it is not our position to ever push any specific kind of religion, period,” That aside, it is even a more serious crime according to the Afghan constitution to propagate any other religion aside Islam. Such a crime is punishable by a death sentence (I guess Daniel was lucky in Lybia then...)


The propagation of the Christian religion in some places has ended some people, usually staunch adherent of Christianity, in trouble. Are there any lessons believers of any faith can take at least from these two instances? I am pretty sure there must be a thousand. I stand to be corrected, but one very intriguing observation I have made is that Muslims are hardly caught up in this trap. Does it mean they are more disciplined than their Christian counterparts are? Also, are Christians more tolerant than Christians, given what has happened?

To a few these issues about Christians breaking the rules to ensure the spread of the Good News might be a debatable one, I personally do not share such opinions though. Nobody is above the very laws that have been made to ensure our existence. I believe the best way to show make-up of one’s religion is to show the discipline that makes up a religion. Breaking the rules to spread one’s faith is not the trick. The spread of a religion I believe can be through other creative mean such as living staying within the legal boundaries set for all.

My closing arguments concern the sort of treatment these ‘criminals’ are to face. Was the clemency really needed for the Ghanaian fellow? Should the same forgiveness be extended to the offender in Afghanistan? Not the likeliest of options, I must admit. In a situation where the crime is not the propagation of Christianity but rather drug trafficking, would a pardon be appropriate?

The law is the law and that is what guides human institutions to run effectively, lest we become savages. I believe the powers that be need not encourage any sort of crime in any form. Believers of various religions should stay within the confines of their faith and be very cautious when they are extending such faith to someone else because God is not a politician.