Social media has been an important tool for bringing people and ideas together. It allows individuals from one culture to interact with numerous people from other cultures, enabling them to harmonize and reshape their traditions or challenge them to disappear. As a young Christian, I was taught to believe in and never doubt the existence of my saviour and creator. Faith and hope were used to blindfold me and many other children, discouraging curiosity and the challenge of foundational beliefs.
Investigating and challenging my Christian faith came naturally to me, as I grew up surrounded by people from other sects or religions. Several times, I received criticism about my religion, which almost put my faith and hope at stake, making me reconsider what had been imparted to me from a very young age and consider converting to a new belief system.
Unfortunately, science was not the basis of the criticisms I received; otherwise, I might have become an atheist by now. As you know, all faith systems have miracles and fairy tales that are difficult to imagine or comprehend.
As a youth who is educated and informed, I began to analyze my perspective as an individual and apply rational parameters that are problematic and irrelevant in analyzing faith-based education. I found myself joining an atheist Facebook group, first to understand the basis of their criticism and second to gauge the relevance of their doubts.
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Thanks to memes, it became easier for me to understand the conflicts between darkness and light, lies and truth, which blend to create spiritual hunger among Christians and non-Christians. Some atheist criticisms were just misconceptions or misunderstandings, while others were intentionally blasphemous and meant to misinform and shake the faith of new believers.
Recently, I posted a meme to my WhatsApp status that was celebrated by fellow Christians from different sects. It was alarming and surprising to see how small lies can have a great impact, especially on believers who are not well-educated but are instead instilled with fear not to question but to provide their offerings and leave.
How sad! The meme portrayed two pictures: one showed the tower of ancient Babel, and the other depicted international airspace. The descriptions suggested that either God no longer exists or the Tower of Babel was just a story.
Scholars of literature have long acknowledged the significant influence of the Bible on literature (novels, poetry, and plays). The way authors of any literary work fold their messages into objects, places, or people is well understood and encouraged among writers of literature to avoid conflicts with authorities.
For example, “Kaptula la Marx” symbolizes Nyerere’s Ujamaa. The Bible is not an open book; it’s a library of books. Events, people, places, and some characters are symbolic and never lived on planet Earth. They are in the Bible to help anyone who is ready to gain the knowledge to understand it. Understanding scripture requires more than formal educational tools; it requires the patience to learn, unlearn, and relearn the very common things you might be ignoring.
I believe understanding the Bible requires a “password” that is highly confidential, considering the valuable details it offers. Belief, faith, and hope will only matter when you have found the key or password to unlock the revelations or hidden messages. Followers wander in search of miracles, financial breakthroughs, and fame due to ignorance of the very words they hear every day. The number of churches is growing, but with little understanding of the word they teach, resulting in risks to the followers’ existence.
As we are waiting for the saviour to come for the second term let’s acknowledge his mercy and grace by planting more trees and preserving the natural beauty by reducing pollutants to our environment. Our environment needs us as we need salvation and forgiveness of our transgressions.
