The Multiplicity of Truth :
An inquiry into African Epistemology
In this brief article I would like to reflect on how the African people look at truth. (I am grateful to my friend Babu Ayindo. A conversation with him has been the real confirmation of my own postulations. Some of the examples used here are his too.) The concept of truth is based on a metaphysics – a way of interpreting reality. Thirdly, it has its implications on ethics.
I would like to speak of these three aspects in the following theses:
1: A ‘Yes’ may mean a ‘No’.
2: The different aspects of reality are not contradictory but only complementary.
3: That is good which simply preserves relationships.
I noticed that in stating these theses I had to be extra careful to state them without absolutizing them – in the African way. Therefore, I notice that English being a non-African language has its limitation in expressing […]
Month: March 2011
Sermon for Cycle A – 27th Sunday Homily: Spiritual Redundancy
Are you protected against Spiritual Redundancy?
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
(Isaiah 5: 1-7; Psalm 79; Philippians 4: 6-9; Matthew 21: 33-43)
‘Redundancy’ is a word that you hear so often these days! More and more people are being made redundant, given the current economic environment. Since my return to theUK, this August, after being away for some months, I have heard at least three people explicitly speak to me about either they themselves or someone else in their family having been made redundant recently. They have lost their jobs.
We should not allow the profit-driven corporate institutions, or the civil services controlled by budget-cuts after years of excessive spending, to make a statement on our self-worth as individuals. Redundancy might have nothing to do with individuals’ talents and skills. Simply, the game of Monopoly that is being played by the corporate world should not make us feel that we are […]
Sermon for Cycle A – 33rd Sunday Homily: God the Gambler
God is a gambler! He takes risks with me.
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
(Prov 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; 1The 5:1-6; Mt 25:14-30)
Not long ago, I was at HeathrowAirport, London, waiting to be called for boarding. With all the war against terrorism, air-travelling is becoming increasingly annoying these days. I had to throw away my cherished bottle of water at the point of security check! I needed another bottle to survive the long flight. So I went to buy it from one of those kiosks near the boarding gate. I picked up a one-litre bottle that was priced at £1.20p (one pound and twenty pence). When I went to pay at the till, the woman there told me with a smile: “We have a special offer today. If you bought The Times newspaper the water is for free. It costs £1 (one pound)!” Is it a way of forcing […]
Darum seid vollkommen
“Darum seid vollkommen, wie euer himmlischer Vater vollkommen ist.” Mt 5, 48
7. Sonntag im Jahreskreis A
Dachau war das erste Konzentrationslager der Nazis, ein Lager für Zwangsarbeiter. Heute ist Dachau eine öffentliche Gedenkstätte. Es gibt dort mehrere Kirchen und eine Synagoge. Bei meinem Besuch dort im letzten Sommer hat mich die Kirche der Versöhnung am meisten beeindruckt. Die Besonderheit dieser Kirche besteht darin, dass es in ihr keine rechten Winkel gibt. Die unregelmäßige Form ist ein symbolischer Protest gegen den Ordnungssinn des Lagers mit seinen in Reihe und Glied erbauten Gebäuden. Als ich die Gedenkstätte verließ, war mir deutlich, dass übertriebener Sinn für Ordnung Zeichen einer Neurose ist. Und dass er zur Lebensbedrohung werden kann.
Im Verlauf der Bergpredigt, aus ihr ist das heutige Evangelium entnommen, wiederholt Jesus immer wieder den Satz; “Ihr sollt vollkommen sein, wie euer Vater im Himmel vollkommen ist” (Mt 5,48). Mit anderen Worten: Jesus lädt uns […]