Seeking to understand religion and get answers on widely asked questions, Caroline okello sought the wisdom of religious scholars.
A story is told of a curious child who wanted to make decisions on what direction to take in matters spiritual. And so he got the ‘experts’ to a round table discussion.
Child: Does God exist?
The religious man: Yes
Atheist (to religious man): How do you know?
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The moral philosopher (to atheist): How did you come to know about this God who you say doesn’t exist?
The scientist: There is this theory of evolution… (Glasses perched on his nose and perusing heavy books)
Christian (to scientist): If we evolved then how come more than 2,000 years after Jesus Christ we have not evolved some more?
And the child runs out of the room and tells his mother that he is thoroughly confused and will decide when he grows up.
Where is god when bad things happen to good people and to children?
Human beings for a long period of time have been amazed by mysterious happenings and they have always attributed all these mysteries to God.
It is not strange that when things you can’t explain happen, that you would say it was God. You were in an accident and was not hurt, it was God who saved you. You got a job without a lot of hassle, it was God who intervened.
The incidence which you had has nothing to do with the supernatural. What happened is that vehicle was probably not well maintained. The shaft just happened to break when it did.
Harrison Mumia, the President of Atheists in Kenya Society
God is not the cause of suffering. Suffering is caused by the actions of human beings. Usually the actions that cause suffering are those that are not in favour with God.
Hassan Mwakimako, an associate professor of Islamic Studies in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Pwani University
A common belief is that children are angels born free of sin. But Christians go back to the original sin, when Adam and Eve went against God and ate the forbidden fruit, which means that no one is born free of sin.
Dr John Peter Bwire, a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Kenyatta University
Why is all this evil going on yet an all-powerful god just watches on?
Islamic stance…
God gave human beings the ability and the power to choose. Humans have the ability to choose whether to do good or bad. You can be tempted to do something, but ultimately you make the decision whether to do it or not.
Hassan Mwakimako, an Associate Professor of Islamic Studies in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Pwani University
The Christian take…
According to various religions, when God created the world he gave us norms and rationality, the wisdom to choose what is good and what is wrong.
Because of that free will, when we choose what is not good, we are then responsible for the choices that we make. Sometimes, you may suffer because of sins committed by others, the case of countries going to war, for example - sins that you won’t be judged for in the end. You’ll only be judged for what you did.
Dr John Peter Bwire, a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Kenyatta University.
What if you are fundamentally good but don’t believe in god? Damned forever?
The biggest sin in almost every religion is to deny the existence of God. But in the end, according to most religions, God will determine what happens to them. And heaven is not a location. It is not somewhere in the sky. It is a state of being.
Natural order of creatures establishes pre- existence of a super being other than creatures themselves. The cause of life and every existence.
That being is not part of this universe, though immanent and transcendental at the same time depending on one's faith or lack of it. For us, believers, we have faith that God exists.
And the very nature of faith is that it is based on spiritual conviction rather than proof. We hope that there is God and God is in control and he is the creator but things of faith are not rational in nature because if what we hope for becomes a reality, that is the end of faith.
Dr John Peter Bwire, a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Kenyatta University
Belief by the numbers
Kenya has: 31.9 million Christians, 4.3 million Muslims (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics).
Atheism is slowly gaining ground. Consider the WIN-Gallup survey that found that those claiming to be religious dropped by 9 per cent worldwide while atheism rose by 3 per cent compared to when they carried the poll in 2005.
The number of atheists in Kenya rose from 0 percent to 2 per cent (South Africa was the only African country with a marked drop in religion, the number religious people dropping from 83 to 64 percent).
KNBS states that 922,128 people in Kenya have no religious affiliation while 61,233 are not sure of their religious affiliation.
