Tavis Smiley interviews Cornel West about Success and Spirituality

Dear friends,

On the link below is a 5 minutes-long video of an interview done by Tavis Smiley with my longtime, dear friend and colleague Dr. Cornel West. In his usual smooth and intellectually powerful voice, Cornel points out the difference between loving one's self by being narcissistic, and loving one's self within the context of sharing love with others both emotionally and spiritually. Please take a listen.

Peace & Love,
G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAfxFEGF-wY Read full post

Obama and African American Spirituality

"Please remember that our spirituality should be a vitamin - not a drug."
(originally posted 9/14/08)



Dear friends,

According to almost all of the agencies of the mass communications media, if he is successful, which I believe he will be, Senator Barack Obama will become our nation's "first Black president". I do not like that moniker though. I find that notion bothersome, because, at least to me, it trivializes both the historical and present contributions made by African Americans to both the development and continued proliferation of the United States as an advanced world power.

In other words, to imply that Barack Obama winning this election is the greatest achievement of our cultural group, ignores the fact that the active protestations of African Americans have been at the lead, in enhancing both freedom and democracy, at every historical stage in this country, for all citizens. This includes the time when a "6-2' mulatto" man named Crispus Attucks, standing in the front of a group of English colonists, against British troops, on the Boston Commons, was the first one shot and killed that special day. That confrontation, of course, was the catalyst for the official start of the War of Independence that turned thirteen colonies into the nation in which we now live - and love.

African Americans are an African people, from many different African cities and villages, who were forcibly made part of an enterprise that initially began amongst Arabs and Eastern Europeans (from where the word "slave" came), about a thousand years or forty generations ago as the International Slave Trade. However, it deteriorated into being what Dr. W.E.B. DuBois described as the "hunting of black skins" not long after Christopher Columbus' famed voyage across the Ocean Sea, renaming that enterprise the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Yet, the institution now known as the "Black Church" did not begin when European enslavers used red-hot iron brands and scarred captive African workers, so-called slaves, while reading the latter verses from the Holy Bible, in a process called seasoning. Rather, the Black Church started in the holds of the aforementioned enslavers' hideous vessels. Again, people from different cities and villages, speaking different languages and having varied customs, were now forced to embrace that which they shared as Africans - their religiosity.

But when we talk about our "souls"/spirituality it seems to mean different things to different people. And so, in his work called After Many a Summer Dies the Swan, Aldous Huxley offered, "Our 'souls' are so little 'us' that we cannot even form the remotest conception how 'we' should react to the universe, if we were ignorant of language, or even of our own language. The nature of our 'souls' and of the world they inhabit would be entirely different from what it is, if we had never learnt to talk, or if we had learnt to talk Eskimo instead of English. Madness consists, among other things, in imagining that our 'soul' exists apart from the language our nurses happen to have taught us."

Huxley makes an observation here that helps to explain the photo above, which shows Senator Barack Obama, literally, surrounded, in a very private situation , by a group of fellow African Americans - engaging in a group prayer. To be sure, they are not concerned with whether or not he belongs to a particular religious denomination. There is something much deeper happening there. For African peoples have appreciated their spirituality, long before they had ever heard of Europeans, or even Asians, for that matter.

In his book African Religions and Philosophies, John Mbiti reveals, “Wherever the African is, there is his religion: he carries it to the fields where he is sowing seeds or harvesting a new crop; he takes it with him to the beer party or to attend a funeral ceremony; and if he is educated, he takes religion with him to the examination room at school or in the university...Traditional religions are not primarily for the individual, but for his community of which he is a part...What people do is motivated by what they believe, and what they believe springs from what they do and experience. So then, belief and action in African traditional society cannot be separated: they belong to a single whole.”

Up until the end of 19th Century America, religious institutions were largely community-oriented, among both African Americans and European Americans. Today, however, for the most part, in this possession-oriented society, the individual as a "believer", as opposed to his or her membership in a community of believers, is what is promoted as the greatest importance to the commonweal.

Still, the congregants of Black churches have always been at the forefront of our cultural group's social progress, by engaging in activities that deal with our outer as well as our inner liberation, such as church folks helping to free captive workers (so-called slaves) during the period of chattel slavery to organizing then leading protest marches and providing facilities for breakfast programs for school children, as they did in the Sixties and Seventies - to helping to lead the fight against apartheid in South Africa, during the Eighties.

Unfortunately, too often today, a lot of concentration is on “being saved” and using the word “God” in every other sentence as some type of password to have membership in "the herd". Many folks are even using religion as a narcotic - like heroin or cocaine; a common refrain from them is: "I'm high on Jesus!".

Also, having “fellowship” is another term that is being bandied about these days. I went to a church, quite recently, whose Sunday program sheet read at the bottom, after the hymns and prayers listed: Worship ends, Service begins. Unfortunately, and shamefully, this was NOT in a Black church.

Black preachers must imitate the life of the historical Jesus who fed the hungry and healed the sick - physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The latter did not just sit around and pray. S/he "worked" for change. During 1963, in his now famous Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King wrote, in part:

"There was a time when the church was very powerful in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators"' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide. and gladiatorial contests.

Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an arch-defender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world. But again I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom, They have left their secure congregations and walked the streets..."

While Dr. King's "letter" was largely directed towards "white" clergy, today, these words, very much, apply to most African American clerics across the nation, as well. That is a fact that should bring a feeling of shame to many who call themselves ecclesiastics. The Black Church has the power to change things! It is not up to "God" to make this world better. After all, if it is, then why does "He" need clerics?

Finally, to be sure, African peoples of the Americas, have a lengthy history of identifying with spiritual things. Had we not, then there would have been no way for us to have endured the long voyages crunched up beside - and stacked up on top of - one another in our mutual stench, for months at a time, much less being able to sustain ourselves, for centuries, in chattel slavery, as well as the continued impropriety directed towards us, even at this present date, by many of our fellows citizens, at all levels of society. Therefore, the real "spirit" of African American people is reflected in our legacy - a lengthy struggle for equality, dignity and justice. Friends, the power of love and its goodness will overcome the weakness of greed and injustice.

Moreover, please remember that our spirituality should be a vitamin - not a drug.

One Love, One Heart, One Spirit,
G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Easter Sunday and Jesus

“Our spirituality should be a vitamin - not a drug.”

Dear friends,

Looking back into this nation's history, with little property or access to being able to feed Ourselves, due to the discriminating behaviors of  Our European American fellows, most African Americans, whether captives or freedmen were forced to look elsewhere for their salvation. For the first two hundred years, or eight generations, of our existence in North America, Africans used a theology of hope and liberation as Our strongest asset.

Unfortunately, after the Civil War, Black ministers started betraying their congregations and started to water down the sentiments of freedom on Earth for the more acceptable "white" mission that would have Black folks being more concerned with the Hereafter. Consequently, although messiah-type saviors have long been in the hearts and minds of oppressed peoples worldwide since time immemorial, it was at that point in North American history, roughly a generation or so prior to the North American Civil War, that led by Black clergy, the search for "Jesus" became the new spiritual sentiment among the African American populace. Moreover, for many African Americans, since manumission five generations ago, their religion has been no different than a narcotic. Webster's Dictionary defines the word narcotic as, "a drug that dulls the senses, relieves pain, and produces sleep." In fact, it is not uncommon to hear the refrain from some African Americans, "I'm high on Jesus."

Of course, We now know that there is little evidence to support the notion of the existence of an historical Jesus, outside of active imaginations. Moreover, a number of scholars have traced the origins of the Jesus myth to Ancient Egypt. Mythology helps people deal with uncertainty. Through it, We make Ourselves feel that we have some understanding of the world in which we live, and, consequently, some ability to control natural forces.

Dr. Charles S. Finch says about Egyptian mythology, "the powers of nature, whether animal, vegetable, or elemental, were not worshiped but provided images to fashion mental concepts and make the world comprehensible." (Journal of African Civilizations, Vol.4-No.2)

Professor John G. Jackson cites, “Two principal types as savior-gods have been recognized by hierologists - vegetation gods and astral gods...The vegetation cults were the most ancient, but they were later blended with the astral worship" (Journal, op. cit., Vol.4-No.2)

Jackson uses a passage from Dr. David Forsyth's book, Psychology and Religion, to illustrate the abovementioned vegetation theory, “Many gods besides Christ have been supposed to die, be resurrected and ascend to heaven. This idea has now been traced back to its origins among primitive people in the annual death and resurrection of crops and plant life generally. This explains the world-wide prevalence of the notion...It is from this erroneous belief of primitive tribes that Christianity today derives its belief in Christ's Death and Resurrection.”

In addition, about astral worship, Jackson says, “In primitive sacrificial rites, the victim was originally the king or chief of the tribe or clan. The prosperity of the group was supposed to have a magical relation to the health of the king; if the ruler became old and feeble, it was thought that the nation or tribe would suffer a similar decline, so the king, considered to be a god in human form, was sacrificed for the good of all, and then replaced with a younger, and more vigorous successor.... In even later days a condemned criminal replaced the royal victim. The culprit was given regal honors, for a time, then put to death. After being entombed, he was believed to rise from the dead within 3 days; the 3 days being based on the 3 day interval between the old and new moons." (Journal, Vol.4-No.2, ibid.)

Many people picture Jesus Christ as a living being, not an imitation of Egyptian mythology. However, at least some Egyptologists seem to share the view that Jesus Christ was a figure created by imaginative scholars who studied the Egyptian deity called Horus (whose story was being told centuries earlier than that of the historical Jesus.)

In fact, the renowned Gerald Massey's work, "Ancient Egypt", reveals nearly 200 "similarities", as it were. Dr. Albert Churchward, one of Massey's disciples, has extracted a few of these parallels. Among them: “Horus was with his mother, the virgin, until 12 years old...Jesus remained with his mother, the virgin, up to the age 12...From 12 to 30 years of age there is no record of the life Horus. From 12 to 30 years of age there is no record in the life of Jesus. Horus, at 30 years of age, became adult in his baptism by Anup. Jesus, at 30 years of age, was made a man of, in his baptism by John the Baptist. Horus in his baptism, made his transformation into the beloved son and only begotten of the Father, God, the Holy Spirit, that is represented by a bird. Jesus, in his baptism, is hailed from Heaven as the beloved son and only begotten of the Father, God, and the Holy Spirit, that is represented by a dove." - The Signs and Symbols of Primordial Man (Journal, Vol.4-No.2, op. cit.)

If the above mentioned is true, did Jesus really exist? Dr. Charles S. Finch has an interesting perspective, “A man named Joshua Ben Pandira (Joshua means “Jesus” in Greek) did live more than a century before the gospel Jesus was supposed to have been born. He was an Essene who learned "magic and wonder-working" in Egypt, traveled through and performed wonders in Palestine, and was tried and crucified by hanging on that account by Jewish magistrates in the city of Lydda on the eve of Passover (Christian Easter). (op. cit.)

This crucifixion happened about 70 years before the historical Jesus Christ was supposed to have been born. Dr. Finch continues, “If there was an historical Jesus, he was it. There was an almost universal expectation of the appearance of a savior in the world's religions of the time and perhaps the life and work of Joshua the Essene provided the germ around which the vast savior mythology - in existence for thousands of years-coalesced (united
We know too, from the Dead Sea Scrolls and other revived documents, which Christianity evolved directly from Essenism and eventually supplanted (replaced) it entirely." (Journal, Vol.4-No.2, op. cit.)

In the overall North American experience, the notion of people appreciating African spirituality as a basis for liberation has been largely erased, although periodically there are Black clerics who continue to struggle against social injustice towards African Americans.

Additionally, "religious" thinking is so pervasive in our society that even when the idea of liberation does enter the dialogue of the Black experience, each outstanding African American leader that appears is appreciated only in the context of “Jesus” Hence, Martin Luther King and others are spoken of as "saviors", instead of individuals who have been or are merely part of a centuries-long liberation movement. Even Barack Obama, the current US president is thought of that way.

As a result, nonsensical comments are made such as, “If it wasn't for Martin Luther King, We'd still be riding the back of the bus. “Never mind!”, Dr. W.E.B. DuBois would have said. It took the sacrifices of thousands - locally - and millions of African Americans - nationally, to make the Montgomery Bus Boycott work, not the eloquence of a few charismatic leaders.

Civil rights professionals/hustlers and corporate media people alike have been pushing the same type of Jesus sentiment. Yet, perhaps, one day, all of humankind will wake up, stop the pretense called religion, and finally admit that we no longer believe in a Supreme Being or a world-ruling personality. After all, who lives their lives according to the tenets of religion? No one! Nevertheless, such a confession will introduce a new period of human liberation, which will, in turn, allow us to reach a new level of humanity and consider "higher aims."

For, as Maurice Cornforth put it so eloquently in his important work, The Open Society and The Open Philosophy, “We (humans) are deeply concerned with 'spiritual' things - and impoverish themselves if they ignore them...(But) if people's material life is impoverished, they do not get much chance to cultivate the things of the spirit-just as they do not do so either if they fail to appreciate the real character of human relations and concern themselves with nothing but their own individual material satisfactions. If only we can better inform our practice - by getting better to know ourselves, our needs, our dependencies on one another, we stand at least a chance of finding how in practice to cultivate all the higher human capacities, the things of the spirit"

Finally, at least to me, our spirituality should be a vitamin - not a drug. Peace.

G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Excerpts of Thomas Paine on Rwligion

from The Age of Reason, by Thomas Paine

"I have always strenuously supported the Right of every Man to his own 
opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it. The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is Reason."

I have never used any other, and I trust I never shall. I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy... But, lest it should be supposed that I believe in many other things in addition to these, I shall, in the progress of this work, declare the things I do not believe, and my reasons for not believing them.

I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind my own church...All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian ..or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.

I do not mean by this declaration to condemn those who believe 
otherwise; they have the same right to their belief as I have to mine. 
But it is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally 
faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in 
disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe. 
It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society. When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to 
subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime. He takes up the trade of a priest for the sake of gain, and in order to 
qualify himself for that trade, he begins with a perjury. Can we conceive any thing more destructive to morality than this?

Soon after I had published the pamphlet Common Sense, in America, I saw the exceeding probability that a revolution in the system of government would be followed by a revolution in the system of religion. The adulterous connection of church and state, wherever it had taken place, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, had so effectually prohibited by pains and penalties, every discussion upon established creeds, and upon first principles of religion, that until the system of government should be changed, those subjects could not be brought fairly and openly before the world; but that whenever this should be done, a revolution in the system of religion would follow. Human inventions and priestcraft would be detected; and man would return to the pure, unmixed and unadulterated belief of one God, and no more.

Every national church or religion has established itself by pretending some special mission from God, communicated to certain individuals. The Jews have their Moses; the Christians their Jesus 
Christ, their apostles and saints; and the Turks their Mahomet, as 
if the way to God was not open to every man alike...Each of those churches show certain books, which they call revelation, or the word of God. The Jews say, that their word of God was given by God to Moses, face to face; the Christians say, that their word of God came by divine inspiration: and the Turks say, that their word of God (the Koran) was brought by an angel from Heaven. Each of those churches accuse the other of unbelief; and for my own part, I disbelieve them all.

As it is necessary to affix right ideas to words, I will, before I proceed further into the subject, offer some other observations on the word revelation. Revelation, when applied to religion, means something communicated immediately from God to man.

No one will deny or dispute the power of the Almighty to make such a communication, if he pleases. But admitting, for the sake of a case, that something has been revealed to a certain person, and not revealed to any other person, it is revelation to that person only. When he tells it to a second person, a second to a third, a third to a fourth, and so on, it ceases to be a revelation to all those persons. It is revelation to the first person only, and hearsay to every other, and consequently they are not obliged to believe it.
communication- after this, it is only an account of something which that person says was a revelation made to him; and though he may find himself obliged to believe it, it cannot be incumbent on me to 
believe it in the same manner; for it was not a revelation made to me, 
and I have only his word for it that it was made to him...When Moses told the children of Israel that he received the two tables of the commandments from the hands of God, they were not obliged to believe him, because they had no other authority for it than his telling them so; and I have no other authority for it than some historian telling me so.

The commandments carry no internal evidence of divinity with them; they contain some good moral precepts, such as any man qualified to be a lawgiver, or a legislator, could produce himself, without having recourse to supernatural intervention. It is, however, necessary to except the declaration which says that God visits the sins of the fathers upon the children; it is contrary to every principle of moral justice. When I am told that the Koran was written in Heaven and brought to Mahomet by an angel, the account comes too near the same kind of hearsay evidence and second-hand authority as the former. I did not see the angel myself, and, therefore, I have a right not to believe it. When also I am told that a woman called the Virgin Mary, said, or gave out, that she was with child without any cohabitation with a man, and that her betrothed husband, Joseph, said that an angel told him so, I have a right to believe them or not; such a circumstance required a much stronger evidence than their bare word for it; but we have not even this- for neither Joseph nor Mary wrote any such matter themselves; it is only reported by others that they said so- it is hearsay upon hearsay, and I do not choose to rest my belief upon such evidence."

Read full post

Believing in "God"

Dear friends,

To me, it’s unfair to claim a special status as a “believer”, while excluding those who have a different interpretation of all existence as “non-believers”. That mean-spirited type of exclusion just mentioned is the basis for all human intolerance.

After all, believing in the ultimate power of both Love and Goodness is not the sole possession of those who identify with the three Abrahamian religions (of the Hebrew deity).

I mean, it (religion) has caused/does cause more killing and suffering, over several millennia, than all other philosophies or world outlooks combined in history.

Besides, if you believe in a world-ruling personality called “God”, then you are talking about a finite entity, because you've assigned a name to that being. In other words, we look at everything geometrically, giving form, shape, and/or substance to all things, in order to distinguish one phenomenon from another – whether we’re talking about physically or intellectually.

Consequently, recognizing something as an omnipresent, omnipotent phenomenon cannot possibly allow one to make a finite configuration. Therefore, at least to me, as opposed to merely worshiping an idol, what people may want to consider is: 1) Using the term “That which is nameless”, instead of “God: or “Allah”, and so forth…and 2) accepting the wisdom and teachings of the great masters of living like Kan Kan Musa, the historical Jesus, Muhammad, and Karl Marx. After all, everyone on “death row now “conveniently” claims to believe in “God”. Right? Peace.

One Love, One Heart, One Spirit,
G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

The Black Church and Christmas

"Please remember: Our spirituality should be a vitamin - not a drug."

Dear friends,

Churches need to play a strong role in Our community building. The Black church is the oldest institution that We have. Beginning in the holds of enslavers' ships through chattel slavery, manumission, and the series of freedom movements that have led up to this point for African Americans, the Black church has been there.

Unfortunately, too often, today, Black churches seem to betray the mission of Our predecessors. There are far too few activities that deal with Our liberation, such as church folks freeing captive workers (so-called slaves) as they did during chattel slavery to helping out with marches and breakfast programs and such as they did in the Sixties and Seventies, while later helping to lead the fight against apartheid in the Eighties. Too much concentration is on “being saved” and using the word “God” in every other sentence as some type of password. Many folks are even using religion as a narcotic - like heroin or cocaine; a common refrain from them is: "I'm high on Jesus!". Please remember: Our spirituality should be a vitamin - not a drug.

Also, having “fellowship” is another term that is being bandied about these days. I went to a church, quite recently, whose Sunday program sheet read at the bottom, after the hymns and prayers listed: Worship ends, Service begins. Unfortunately, and shamefully, this was NOT in a Black church. 

Black preachers must imitate the life of the historical Jesus who fed the hungry and healed the sick - physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The latter did not just sit around and pray. He "worked" for change. During 1963, in his now famous Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Dr. King wrote, in part:

"There was a time when the church was very powerful in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being 'disturbers of the peace' and 'outside agitators' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were 'a colony of heaven', called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be 'astronomically intimidated'. By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide. and gladiatorial contests.

Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world. But again I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom, They have left their secure congregations and walked the streets..."

While, at that time, Dr. King's "letter" was largely directed towards European American or "white" clergy, today, those words, very much, apply to most African American clerics across the nation, as well, regrettably. That is a fact that should bring a feeling of shame to many who call themselves ecclesiastics. The Black Church has the power to change things! It is not up to "God" to make this world better. After all, if it is, then why does "He" - or We - need clerics?

At any rate, Our church facilities should be open to Our youth, so that they can study Our history (with no membership or attendance at the particular church required). In other words, We need to actually set up libraries in Our communities within Our churches. Historians, librarians, community activists, and college professors can contribute tremendously to making this happen.

A major problem with fighting against Our oppression and becoming a community lies with the fact that We are often Our own worst enemies, because of Our self-hatred. That is, from African American bank tellers who treat Us differently than other customers to drive-by shootings, both feelings and acts of self-hatred make it difficult for African American men and women to even form genuinely loving relationships of any kind, much less encourage Our youth to get along with each other. We must learn to love Ourselves and Our fellows.

Note: "Love", as it were, is only of any use as an "act of being" as opposed to a "state of being". That means that love is only effective as a verb - not a noun. In other words, in this society, love, as a "state of being", is a passive experience that we hear about through so many cheap songs on the radio and see on tv soap operas. However, as an "act of being", love means that people are "actively" loving towards one another. Consequently, love should be an active, not passive, practice of caring about, being concerned for, concentrating on, trying to understand, and feeling responsible towards not just Our mates and other people, but Our work, and Our communities, as well. Besides, when love is passive, it doesn't last long, because it is then just like a "mood". To be sure, moods change, all of the time. Hence, the serial polygamy practiced by so many of those involved with the institution of marriage and other such "love" relationships, in this country.

Finally, education is something that you get for yourself. It is NOT something that someone gives to you. Notwithstanding, the Black church should be the place where young people in Our communities can get helpful knowledge and ideas, along with developing useful skills. The public schools will, ultimately, follow, if Our churches show them the way. Our young should know that the adults of the community will provide the type of environment where their minds can develop in a manner that will make them be able to control their own destinies. Consequently, for Our youth, We must all embrace the old Nigerian proverb that goes, “If you pick a good tree to climb, I will help lift you up.” Moreover, where is a better place for Our children to learn to appreciate scholarship than the Black Church?

One Love, One Heart, One Spirit,
G. Djata Bumpus Read full post

Duke Ellington on "Seeing God"

"There was a man who was blessed with the vision to see God. But even this man did not and does not have the power or whatever it takes to show God to a believer, much less an unbeliever." - Edward Kennedy Ellington

“Seeing God”, by Duke Ellington
(a one-page chapter from his book, Music is my Mistress)

If you can see by seven caroms to the seventh power, then you can see God. If you could see total carom, to total power, you would be thought to be God. And since you can’t do either, you are not God, and cannot stand to see God, but if you happen to be the greatest mathematician, you will discover after completing carom that God is here with you.

So be wise and satisfied with the joy that comes to you through the reflection and miracle of God, such as all the wonders and beauty we live with and are exposed to on Earth.

There have been times when I thought I had a glimpse of God. Sometimes, even when my eyes were closed, I saw. Then when I tried to set my eyes – closed or open - back to the same focus, I had no success, of course. The unprovable fact is that I believe I have had a glimpse of God many times. I believe because believing is believable, and no one can prove it unbelievable.

Some people who have had the same experience I have had are afraid or ashamed to admit it. They are afraid of being called naïve or square. They are afraid of being called unbrainwashed by the people who brainwashed them, or by those they would like to be like, or friendly with.  Maybe they just want to be in. Maybe it’s a matter of the style, the trend, or whatever one thinks one does to be acceptable in certain circles.

There was a man who was blessed with the vision to see God. But even this man did not and does not have the power or whatever it takes to show God to a believer, much less an unbeliever.
Read full post

The Honoravle Elijah Muhammad

Dear friends,

The thoughtless, yet deceitful, practice by the government- and corporate-controlled media of calling any movement, no matter how progressive or slightly social, a “Civil Rights movement” totally ignores the centuries-long struggle of African American people that preceded the Montgomery Bus Boycott...in fact, our liberation movement continues to this very day, in spite of all of the obstacles that... are thrown at us like having a so-called black president...In any case, like Marcus Garvey and many Blacks before him (and still many today) - the Honorable Elijah Muhammad believed that the only way for African Americans to achieve true freedom was first for Us to "get some land" (possibly through reparations for Our enslavement.) 

Moreover, he taught that We needed to separate from the USA because the so-called "white" man was actually "The Devil." Additionally, Mr. Muhammad rejected Christianity, as evidenced in his archetypal work, The Fall Of America: “First, Christianity has failed you because it was the religion which first placed you in slavery. Secondly, Christianity has failed you because through its doctrine of turning the other cheek it has rendered you incapable of defending yourself in the hour of peril. Thirdly, Christianity has failed you because it has caused you to forsake the pursuit of an illusory and nonexistent justice beyond the grave.”

As for his deity, Allah, Mr. Muhammad, said, " His teachings bring Us into Reality, and not into some kind of spooky, or spirit, or ghost-like teaching. We could never ask a formless spirit ourselves. Man can only listen to man. Man cannot listen to other than man." Of course, unfortunately, the behavior of Muslims id the Middle East do nit reflect that assertion.

In spite of his shortcomings in terms of some of the solutions to his outlook, which - although meant to be considerate of African Americans - were somewhat Eurocentric, excluded some people, and capitalistic (exploitative) - he was truly a great man. The legacy of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad cannot be summed up better than my longtime mentor and friend Dr. Molefi Asante, a great scholar and educator, did in his own classic book, Afrocentricity - The Theory Of Social Change, “ No man was so quietly effective in organizing as Elijah Muhammad...In sum, Elijah gave us Malcolm, Muhammad Ali, and Louis Farrakhan. These messengers are creative, exceptional and powerful as symbols of a legacy the likes of which come rarely and never enough. Elijah Muhammad inspired a whole generation of scholarship, literature, art eloquence, and science; he was truly a son of our ancestors.” 

 Liberation! 

 G. Djata Bumpus; Read full post

Is the concept of "God" an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance?

Astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson




Dear friends,

On the link below, Astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson delivers very brief (3 minutes-long) but eloquent and forceful commentary that addresses the argument by so many that attributes every unexplainable event to "God". Moreover, Dr. Tyson insists that explaining away the unknown as "the work of God", as it were, in light of the understanding of the whole universe that we continue to gain by using the scientific method, results in thoughtlessness.

Finally, the great Dr. Molefi Asante has taught us that the purpose of education is "inquiry". Yet, if we are unwilling to think deeply about the various relationships between phenomena in this world, much less the universe, and are content with slamming on the brakes of our thought processes and surrendering any further investigation to the notion that "God" is the answer, then we are no less "uneducated" and "primitive" than our prehistoric ancestors. Please reflect.

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUAkEkdxdjc Read full post

On Forgiveness

“…for African Americans and other oppressed people, especially Christian ministers/missionaries have, for many years, conveniently, urged us to embrace this notion of "forgiveness"…”

Dear friends,

On Facebook and other forums, I continuously hear about the notion of “forgiveness”. I strongly denounce the notion that one person should "forgive" another person for an insult committed against one's self!. That is, if someone hurts you, then s/he must first forgive himself or herself and redeem himself or herself by righting the wrong. Otherwise, that person hasn't grown, by you forgiving them when they've done nothing to make up for the unsolicited and unwanted insult that was thrust upon you.

Consequently, to me, it is a shallow expression of moral superiority, if not a mockery of it, to allow a person to remain in a bed of deceit and wrongdoing, instead of, at most, waiting to give that person a chance to redeem himself or herself. Besides, if you forgive the insulter, and that person hasn't attempted to redeem himself or herself, then you will suffer mentally and emotionally, inasmuch as that will clearly affect your self-esteem. This happens to victims of sexual abuse every second of every day, particularly females, since females are sexually assaulted, often by a relative or family "friend", literally, every second of every day, somewhere in the world!!! It's bad!!!

So, for example, if I borrow $100 from you and don't pay it back, then why should you forgive me? However, if I forgive myself, and come up to you with the $100 at a much later time and ask for your forgiveness for not paying on time, that's a whole different story. Then you can show real moral superiority, by letting that person pay you back. Otherwise, you are drugging yourself into thinking that you have done something good, when you have not even shown the courage to reject another person's insult directed towards you, by him or her asking for forgiveness without redeeming himself or herself first. Again, it affects your self-esteem.

Finally, the person who is not remorseful about having hurt you won't care either, so you've done nothing to help either of you...You just allowed a criminal to get away with a crime, so to speak. There's nothing good about that! Moreover, for African Americans and other oppressed people, especially Christian ministers/missionaries have, for many years, conveniently, urged us to embrace this notion of "forgiveness", as if the social/citizen insults have ceased to occur.

Peace & Love,
G. Djata Bumpus. Read full post

Presidential Conventions of 2012 and Religion

"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people." - Karl Marx
>
Dear friends,

It's interesting that ALL of the speakers at both of the political conventions 2012 ended their addresses with religious salutes. And so, while such gestures may bring warm feelings, temporarily, to many, at what point will humankind take responsibility for realizing our true essence and seeking to relate to each other and what we do, in a way that will bring genuine peace and happiness, without us havin

to engage in the drama of politics? 

In his often, deliberately, misquoted work called, A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right - Introduction, the great Karl Marx offers, "Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo."

Finally, we cannot appreciate our true essence as a species, much less ever find real peace and happiness, as long as we obscure its existence through religious claims that do not reflect our behavior as species beings. Cheers!

G. Djata Bumpus

Read full post

Re-visiting an analysis of Eddie Glaude's article called "The Black Church is Dead"

"He makes no mention of the origin of the Black Church, regarding an individual’s religiosity, much less the inner powers of spirit that were necessary to survive the infamous voyage of the European enslavers’ ships. Or, for that matter, even of post- Civil War concoctions of Black churches that were organized by “white” missionaries and their ilk who established “places of worship” for our forebears (as if our predecessors had no sense of their own religiosity.)"

 (originally posted 3/22/10)

Dear friends,

Considering the health care legislation that was just approved by Congress at the urging of President Obama, the recent publication by The Huffington Post of an unworthy article by Princeton professor Eddie Glaude Jr, regarding his assertion that the Black Church is "Dead", seems like a moot point. This is especially so, since it was the Black Church that was Obama’s strongest ally, during his run for the presidency. However, it also points to a deeper problem of Black scholarship in this country and elsewhere, or what passes off as such, that has really taken a nose-dive during the past couple of decades.

But what is the Black Church? In Glaude’s perception of what it is, he provides very little historical basis for it, outside of pointing out a couple of questionable characters/preachers who have fleeced African Americans over the past 80 years or so. He makes no mention of the origin of the Black Church, regarding an individual’s religiosity, much less the inner powers of spirit that were necessary to survive the infamous voyage of the European enslavers’ ships. Or, for that matter, even of post- Civil War concoctions of Black churches that were organized by “white” missionaries and their ilk who established “places of worship” for our forebears (as if our predecessors had no sense of their own religiosity.)

Nevertheless, after first focusing on the results of silly studies and polls that claim to document African American worship, Glaude does briefly take notice of various endeavors in which the Black Church has involved itself in order to help alleviate social problems, in the past. Unfortunately, after what amounts to an anti-intellectual, anti-historical introduction, Glaude’s main solution for re-establishing an effective Black Church is some kind of metaphysical drivel about “prophetic energies”.

To be sure, the energy that we need to muster is readily available to us, because each of us possesses both inner and outer powers that will allow us to create and produce what we need and want in this myriad of experiences that we know as human life.

We don't need to search for some type of esoteric entity such as “prophetic energies”. Rather, at least to me, we need direct action that is based upon the struggle of African American people to acquire “freedom, equality, and justice”.

Most importantly though, without Glaude’s anemic article acknowledging the origin of the Black Church as beginning on enslavers’ ships where people were chained together with folks who often didn’t even share the same native tongues, while, simultaneously, living in their own excrement, there is no reasonable justification for Glaude, as an alleged African American “scholar”, to even have written this piece, because his premise is entangled with quixotic notions about propositions that are somehow proof of themselves. Hence, the “prophetic energies” about which he babbles.

In any case, in the real world, later the Black Church developed in cotton fields and other such places. Please remember that a building does not make up a church. Rather, it is the combined religiosity of any group of people – any size - that does. Also, the Black Church is not “black and Christian”, as Glaude so naively, if not mean-spiritedly, claims. There are, after all, many Black congregations of Muslims, Jews (i.e., Hebrew), you name it. Are they not part of the Black Church? In fact, does one have to be enrolled in a particular denomination or attend religious services, in order to be part of the Black Church? Does a person have no investment in the Black Church, if s/he attends a church where most of the congregants are not African American?

At any rate, our church facilities should be open to our youth so that, for example, they can study our history (with no membership or attendance at the particular church required). Resources like the great Charles Blockson collection in Philadelphia, community activists, and college professors can contribute tremendously to making this happen.

Education, of course, is something that you get for yourself. It is NOT something that someone gives to you. Notwithstanding, the Black Church should be the place where young people in our communities can get helpful knowledge and ideas, along with developing useful skills. The schools will, ultimately, follow, if our churches show them the way. Our young people should know that the adults of the community will provide the type of environment where their minds can develop in a manner that will make them be able to control their destinies.

Consequently, for our youth, we must all embrace the old Nigerian proverb that goes, “If you pick a good tree to climb, I will help lift you up.” Moreover, where is a better place for our children to learn to appreciate scholarship than the Black Church?

Yet, to me, there is something much more pernicious going on here. It is: Glaude and his pathetic ilk have no clue as to how to solve current problems in our religious institutions, much less our communities. For example, he didn’t mention the rampant practice of Black ecclesiastics who, just as many Catholic priests of all complexions do, engage in all sorts of sexual indignities with their parishioners. That makes a lot of Black folks not want to go to church!

Still, the Black church lives! Yet, it must maintain a course, based upon the people’s struggle. Churches, mosques, and synagogues need to play a strong role in our community building. The Black church is the oldest institution that we have, again, beginning in the holds of enslavers' ships through chattel slavery, manumission, and the series of freedom movements that have led up to this point for African Americans. The Black church has been there, and it will continue to be. But, like everyting else, it’s part of a process.

Finally, Glaude has taken improper stock of himself in trying to analyze an institution of which he, apparently, has limited understanding. Worse yet, he’s given more reason for mainstream media outlets, like The Huffington Post, to keep the dialogue away from being enlightening/informative, motivating, and inspiring. After all, the idea that the Black Church is dead is useless blather. Is the “White” Church dead? Is it only “white and Christian”? Does it even exist? Why hasn’t The Huffington Post found some fool to write such a piece?

If you’re interested, the link to Glaude’s article appears below.

One Love, One Heart, One Spirit,
G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eddie-glaude-jr-phd/the-black-church-is-dead_b_473815.html Read full post

Pope Benedict resigns after lambasting Capitalism

Dear friends,

During the recent "Fiscal cliff" nonsense about which the crooks in Washington and their lying mainstream media cohorts hoodwinked the American public, it was brought out that Pope Benedict wrote in his first book, several years ago, that "— Benedict XVI criticizes the “cruelty” of capitalism and colonialism and the power of the wealthy over the poor in his first book as pope released on Friday." World Business, NBC.com

Now the pontiff has suddenly and mysteriously resigned....Huh?

To be sure, during the Reagan era, Pope John Paul the 2nd was known as The President's Pope. In fact, he supported the puppet Reagan in all of his evil acts against humanity, under the guise of fighting Communism (whatever that is).

Finally, in this day of mass communication through the Internet, Corporate Capitalism could hardly tolerate a pope that isn't in lock step with the greedy capitalist rulers. And the beat goes on...

G. Djata Bumpus
http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1050&context=srhonorsprog

Read full post

Faeebook plagiarist demeans Social Networking in post about "God"

"…it’s unfair to claim a special status as a 'believer', while excluding those who have a different interpretation of existence as 'non-believers'."

Dear friends,

Today, April Fool’s Day 2011, mind you, I saw a post about “God” by a Facebook friend. When I started reading it I thought to myself, “ Man, I really like what this guy is saying”. After the second sentence, I thought, “Damn, this sounds like me.”. After the third sentence, I looked down, narcissistically, in order to see my name as the author, since, occasionally, my aforementioned Facebook friend "shares" my posts with his "friends". I became incensed! Someone named Julian Kyle had plagiarized me and taken credit for my work.

Now, occasionally, I keep records of my Facebook responses in a Word folder. When I checked, sure enough, the text appears below:

God is a creation of the human mind, as people try to understand our existence…the idea of one “God”, of course, began under Akhenaton 2 of ancient Egypt…the term is supposed to relate to that which is the ultimate good or that which is perfect…Yet, the claim of a “jealous God” is a contradiction in terms, since jealousy is hardly a sign of perfection…Nevertheless, the fact so many think that both the thoughts or actions of people and even disaster, for example, are so easily explained by attributing whatever happens as “God’s will” is silly and childish…Moreover, the total lack of proof of God’s existence outside of the human imagination begs for the question: How can a proposition be proof of itself?

In addition to that Facebook post, in another Word file, while looking for the former one, I found this one below. It goes right with the one above:

…it’s unfair to claim a special status as a “believer”, while excluding those who have a different interpretation of existence as “non-believers”. That mean-spirited type of exclusion just mentioned is the basis of human intolerance. Ya dig? Moreover, religious intolerance has caused more killing and suffering over the millennia than any other philosophy or world outlook. Additionally, if you believe in a world-ruling personality called “God”, then you are talking about a finite entity, because you’ve appointed a name to that “being”.

In other words, we look at everything geometrically; that is, we recognize each phenomenon or thing by form, shape, and substance, in order to distinguish one thing from another – whether we’re talking about physically or intellectually. Therefore, an infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent phenomenon could not have a name! Dig? At best, we would address that Supreme Being as “that which is nameless.” However, saying a couple of extra syllables is too difficult for fast-paced Americans of any skin color.

While it is difficult for most people to think that deeply, just imagine that in the beginning there was nothing. Yet, nothing IS something. Isn't it? Hence, the origin of all existence. Let's face it. How many people can visualize much past three generations? It's mostly about reconstruction and inference, when looking back at what has already occured. Besides, even watching a video recording doesn't tell you the feelings or intentions of those involved. Feel me?

Finally, what we really need to consider is: imitating the life of, say, the historical Jesus Christ. After all, as far as being a “believer” goes, everyone on Death Row now “conveniently” claims to believe in “God”. Right?

One Love, One Heart, One Spirit,
G. Djata Bumpus
Read full post

Dr..Ndibe recalls a truly religious man

The late Lamido and my father

By Okey Ndibe



With the death on March 13 of Aliyu Musdafa, the 11th Lamido of Adamawa, Nigeria strikes me as a slightly dimmer space. The death of this extraordinary Nigerian touched me – and my mother as well as four siblings – in a deeply personal way. We – on behalf of my late father – owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to this unusual traditional and religious leader. For us, his memory will remain a richly treasured and profoundly admirable one.

It was in Yola that my parents, Christopher Chidebe and Elizabeth Ofuchinyelu Ndibe, began their lives as a young couple. Father worked as a postal clerk in Jimeta, Yola, whilst Mother taught at Saint Theresa’s, a Catholic elementary school in the same town. Three of my four siblings as well as I were born in Yola.

My earliest memories are rooted in that quiescent town. We lived in a small brown-brick building called “Clerical Quarters,” a whispering distance from the post office where Father toiled. Looking back, I remember an oddly charmed life. There’s the tree in front of our flat under whose shade we played childhood games. I recall a bearded Hausa friend of my father’s. He was a lanky man who, in my recollection, always sported long flowing robes. Fascinated by his grey beard, I would perch on his lap whenever he came to visit and occupy myself by tugging at those lush, spongy tufts.

I remember, too, days when our father fetched his double-barrel gun and went out to the banks of River Benue to hunt. He would return, his hunting bag sagged with the weight of several guinea fowls. I recall days when our parents walked us to the courts where Father played tennis, his spare athlete’s body accentuated by his white sports outfit. Then there were sightseeing excursions to the banks of the river, or to clearings in the savanna where, with the sun irradiating the sky in the distance, bare-bodied young beat each other’s chests with sturdy sticks in a test of fitness for initiation into manhood.

It was for me – speaking from the perspective of a child – a beautiful, even magical time. Doubtless, my parents must have encountered some hard and harsh facts of daily life, but I was, like many children, oblivious to them. Life, for me, was idyllic.

Then things changed quickly. Snarls replaced the portraits of smiling faces. Anger usurped the bonhomie we were accustomed to. There were violent rumblings in streets where we once played with innocent abandon. Suddenly, our parents became wary when we wanted to play out in front of our flat. Gaiety disappeared from our lives. I was too young to put a name to my parents’ awkward silences and strange whispers, or the inexplicable absences of the adults and children who used to frequent our home – and who once welcomed us warmly to theirs. Unbeknown to me, the fetus of war was being nurtured in the womb of Nigeria’s history.

As the rumbles grew, my father decided that Mother and we, the children, should return to the safety of Amawbia – my paternal hometown which was then, in many ways, a strange address to me. I was then more a Yola boy; I had a richer grasp of Hausa than Igbo.

Despite our mother’s pleas, Father couldn’t flee Yola with the rest of his family. He was a conscientious employee, and the Federal Government had warned that civil servants who absconded would forfeit their posts. He stayed back in a Yola that convulsed with hate, a town where violence simmered, waiting for a trigger to explode and spew its murderous lava.

One day, Father and other postal workers – most of them Christians – were hard at work when a mob besieged them. Fear-stricken, he and his embattled colleagues barricaded themselves in. but their hiding place was far from an impregnable fortress. The mob, armed with cudgels, machetes, hammers and other tools, began to hack at the locked doors of the post office. It was a matter of time before the mob had the better of their quarry.

At the nick, when things looked gloomiest for my father and his cornered fellow workers, providence intervened on their side. Or, to be more accurate, the Lamido happened to be passing by. Spying the mob, he ordered his convoy to stop. After ascertaining the mob’s mission, the Lamido chastised and ordered them to disperse. He then conveyed my father and other postal clerks – men, mind you, who were mere moments away from certain death – to his palace. There, he gave them shelter and food for several weeks until the wave of orgiastic violence abated. He then arranged for Father and others to be boarded on the last ships to leave Yola for the south east.

When my father finally arrived in Amawbia, a scrawny shadow of his former vibrant self, it was as if he’d risen from the dead. Our mother had for months been in an inconsolable state, a woman paralyzed with the fear (verging on certainty) that some mindless merchants of death had killed her husband. Gunshots boomed and reverberated all over Amawbia as the town celebrated Father’s improbable return.

As I matured and learned this history, it struck me that – but for the Lamido’s vote for sanity and his insistence on the sanctity of life – my father would have been dead that distant afternoon in 1967. Instead, the Lamido – himself a relatively young man at the time – stepped into a grim situation and made a choice that was courageous and deeply heroic.

What moved the Lamido to be an agent of life and decency in a season ruled by death and unreason?

In July of 2008, I traveled to Yola to meet Mr. Musdafa in order to, one, express my family’s abiding gratitude for his uncommon act of kindness and, two, to satisfy my curiosity. It was my first visit to Yola since our flight in 1966 when I was hardly six. The town had changed significantly, but not so fundamentally as to nullify all my childhood memories.

I found the flat where we lived – and that tree in front of it, now twisted with age and much smaller than I remembered. Visiting the banks of the Benue where Father used to hunt, I saw kids diving in and out of the river and fishermen lounging in makeshift sheds, their boats abandoned in the languorous blaze of the noon heat. I visited Saint Theresa’s Church where our parents used to take us to mass. Inside, the old church was dim and derelict, a small forgotten structure now dominated by an imposing cathedral built nearby. I then went to see the now dilapidated school where Mother once taught.

The highlight was, of course, that meeting with the late Lamido. He ushered me into his sparse, clean reception room moments after my arrival was announced. He was a very tall, lean man with cropped white beards and lively eyes. There was not about him that fussy insistence on grandeur cultivated by many who occupy traditional offices. He seemed to project a moral gravitas much more than he exuded royal pomp. He was a man of quiet dignity whose carriage proclaimed the effortlessness of his deep humanity.

He insisted that he did nothing special in saving my father and other Christians. “As a true Muslim, I could not let allow the spilling of innocent blood.” He remembered that my parents had written a letter to thank him – but he was adamant that his action was a simple one.

A Nigeria beset by rising sectarian violence stands in need of citizens, Christians and Muslims, possessed of the late Lamido’s moral clarity, commitment to humanistic values, and deep nobility and conscience. My mother, siblings and I will ever treasure the colossus that was Alhaji Aliyu Musdafa who died a month shy of his 88th birthday. His legacy is rare, and will endure.
Read full post