Reflections on the power of teachers

When I graduated from Tri-State (now Trine) University in 1978, I was asked to write the poem for the inside cover page of the class yearbook. My poem was about the influence of what we believe on what we do. Unworthy philosophies don't stay philosophies but become the acts that make up history. Before Treblinka (a Nazi death camp), a people believed in the philosophy of national socialism (Naziism).

It came to me again today. In reading through my Google alerts (which I use to try to keep up on areas of vital interest), I read a blurb about Afrikania Mission. This is the group that most strongly opposes the liberation of shrine slaves. Their main argument is that shrine slavery is a part of their culture so no one should mess with it. There was a simple line in this article about Osofo Okomfo Damua, the founder of Afrikania. I knew he was a former Roman Catholic priest who apostasized from his faith and became what in Ghana is commonly called a "fetish priest." In America we are prone to call such a person a witch doctor. He became sold on the idea that the spirits behind the African idols, or the "lesser gods" as they are called in Ghana, were every bit as viable and as worthy of worship as Jesus Christ. He founded the Afrikania Mission and became an outspoken opponent of Christianity.

Today, I can truly say that if it were not for the opposition of the Afrikania Mission, all the shrine slaves in Ghana would have been freed long ago. Ghanaian law, public opinion, and common decency are all on the side of liberation. From my experience I would say that a very high percentage of the priests and shrine owners themselves actually favor liberation. It is only Afrikania's incessant cries of 'Don't mess with our culture!' that keep the shrine slaves in bondage.

I knew all this, and I knew that Damua was influenced toward his relativistic stand by his studies in the U.S. I saw from the article that he obtained a Ph.D. from Howard University. Ah, yes. I've read some of the convoluted thinking of some of their scholars. I'm sure some are fine, too. I read on Wikipedia that one of their faculty discovered blood plasma. I'm sure many do a fine job. But somebody there influenced Damua in a direction that has had extremely tragic consequences. It could have happened in many universities, wherever relativistic thought is extolled.

I love teaching myself, and I loved university, so I couldn't get this out of my mind. I pictured some professor extolling what seemed to him like just a philosophy. There is no ultimate truth, he might have said. Truth for you might not be truth for me--something like that. In fact, the many gods worshiped in Africa--the spirits behind those mounds of clay with little shells stuck in for eyes--they are really just as good as the Christian God. Whatever he said, it made such an impression on Damua that he left his Catholic faith and turned to ancient idols.

It was a tragedy for Damua's own soul, for Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6b). It was a tragedy for a woman I visited with team members a couple of years ago in a Ghanaian village. We sat on benches and chatted while she wove baskets. She was glad for our visits, but she told us pointedly that it was too late for her. She belonged to Afrikania, she said, and she had already given herself to the devil. (Those were her own words.) We pleaded with her that it is never too late as long as she has breath. Jesus loves her and stands ready to forgive her and welcome her when she comes to Him. She refused.

It is a continuing tragedy for thousands of shrine slaves who are still bound (not physically, but spiritually, psychologically and socially) to their masters, forced to bow and chant to idols that many of them tell me they hate. It is a tragedy for future generations because most shrines practice "replacement." When those slaves die, or even if they escape, the shrine will seek another girl from that family. One priest put it this way: "Once a crime is committed, it must be continuously atoned for until the end of time." !!!!!!!!!!!!

I wonder who influenced Damua. Was it one professor? Was it literature he read? Was it the flavor of a whole department? I don't know. I may never know. Whoever and whatever it was bears a weight of responsibility that I can't even imagine. Because of that influence, Damua died in his sins without the Savior. Because of that influence, that lovely woman we talked with may also face God without a covering for her sin. Because of that influence, thousands upon thousands remain in slavery and pass that heritage on to their most unfortunate children.

I got to wondering about Howard University. I found out it was started shortly after the end of the American Civil War. The first goal was to train African American clergyman, although the idea quickly expanded to include an entire university. Wow. To think that something started for such a purpose could end up having such an influence.

It gets me thinking. What kind of an influence will my life have?