Kampala City Festival 2015: I Was There

By Bakampa Brian Baryaguma

bakampasenior@gmail.com; www.huntedthinker.blogspot.ug

I was at the Kampala City Festival, on Sunday, 4^th October, 2015. It was the third, organized annually by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), held under the theme, Our City. Our Celebration. Having missed the previous two, this time round I was there, because I really had to be there to witness the festivities for myself. I needed time and space to have fun, be extremely free, and somewhat naughty. I really enjoyed the event, and I also look forward to attending many others to come.

The festival provides an opportunity for the people of Kampala and elsewhere, to celebrate, jubilate, and take pride in their city. Judging from the prevailing mood yesterday, I think these objectives are being realized. I learnt of the event’s occurrence at about 7:30 pm of the night of Saturday, 3^rd October, 2015, as I did my laundry, and I determined that I had to be there this time round, since I long desired to. I had many house chores and activities to do in the weekend, but I decided to be done with them by early morning of the next day. I worked tirelessly, and ended up sleeping at midnight. I woke up early Sunday morning, at 5:00 am, to prepare the day’s food, and finish other household chores. Then, I went to church, and on my return, ironed my clothes. At 3:00 pm, I set off for the festival, and reached Kampala city center, the venue for the festival, at 3:45 pm.

There were many entrances, but I entered via the Pioneer Mall / Mapeera House inlet that was heavily manned by police, with walk-through metal detectors. I immediately bought a customized festival cap to put me in a celebratory mood, which I am still keeping as a souvenir. Then, I embarked on studying the reach and extent of the festival, in terms of area covered, number and kind of people in attendance, the activities carried on, leisure and entertainment, and the prevailing security situation, among others.

I noticed that the festival was primarily on Kampala road. It was interesting seeing this intensively vehicle-jammed and extremely busy road ­– the whole stretch from the KCCA fountain at Kampala Pentecostal Church (Watoto), near Fido Dido, all the way down to Victoria University, near National Theatre – and all adjacent road junctions, free of everything, but a mass of people. It was a remarkable tale of “from vehicle jam to human jam.”

I observed that the festival attracted no less than 500,000 people, of different races and nationalities, various ages, diverse socio-economic and political backgrounds, all with one common objective – enjoying themselves simply and easily. This festival is apparently becoming a tourist attraction of sorts. It was amazing how people were free with, and tolerant of one another, no matter what one did; as long as, of course, one did not take this liberty beyond acceptable limits like occasioning injury on another, or stealing another’s property. Whatever one did for fun’s sake was graciously accepted, and taken happily. For example, in the middle of the busy and tightly packed human traffic, I met two girls walking in my opposite direction, one of whom was extremely naughty, dressed in short and tattered jeans. She grabbed my hand and started rubbing it around her forbidden fruit area as she made some erotic statements. I let her have her moment of fame, until she let go. I was worried and scared however, because her thigh-land was very cold. I imagined how terrible it must be for her visitors down there. Later, I met another girl seated in the middle of the road (I think after exhaustion), and I sat on her laps. She laughed heartily, pushed me off them gently, and stood up, as other people nearby cheered us. I also met a chic with such a well-endowed and juicy looking big ass, which she shook so nicely in accordance with the rhythm of the sweet, sensational music, that I almost touched it, had it not been for the Holy Spirit, which immediately possessed me, urging me not to dare touch what her mama gave her.

There was a lot of trade going on. A variety of goods and services were available for sale, and many others for free. As expected, vendors were allowed to sell on the streets, without being hunted by KCCA law enforcers. There were different foodstuffs – both eats and beverages. Service providers especially, telecoms, were there advertising and selling their items like phones. Even a blood donation exercise went on, which tempted me to donate, but after quick deliberation in my mind, I declined to do so, remembering that I came to have fun, and be somewhat wild, yet I didn’t want to jeopardize this leisure moment, as I could easily collapse after blood being taken out of my body. Then, I came across a tent where HIV/AIDS counseling was done, and there was free condoms distribution too. I was handed two packs of Life Guard condoms, which I took without objection. For the benefit of the perverts, who I know are now having weird thoughts, I must clarify that I only took them as souvenirs too. Lolest!!!

In terms of leisure and entertainment, it was visibly clear that people really enjoyed themselves to the maximum especially, me. There were different and many local musicians, all entertaining people, free of charge. As usual and expected, Ugandans did not disappoint on this front. I am glad that we, Ugandans, know how to have fun, and enjoy ourselves. People devised and played all sorts of games especially, those considered childish, and rather naughty-like. I endeavoured to participate in as many games as I could. Men and women played kwepena (dear reader, I am sorry I don’t know this game’s English name, and I highly doubt it has any), which is traditionally a game for very young girls. I participated in one of the kwepenas whereby if one successfully dodged all the balls targeted at him, he would pick all the condoms on the ground, walk away with one of the girls busy dishing them, and return her after they are over. Boys were also available for similarly successfully girls too. Unfortunately for me, the first shot hit me, and I was out. I felt bad, because I wanted to win and walk away with all of the girls present. I came across a small group of boys and girls playing football at the point directly in front of Bank of Baroda (it was the kind such as that I played with my Kigezi High School OBs called karere). I joined them, and scored the first goal. Then we passed a rule that if the ball passed between one’s legs, he or she would not play again until either after touching a passer-by of the opposite sex, or receiving a slap. I was the first to fall victim to this rule, after the ball passed between my legs, and I chose to touch a girl, in order for me to continue playing. I touched the upper arm of some nearby hot babe, dressed in a cool, short white dress. That way, I was off the hook. She and her friends came to gaze at us, and I substituted myself for her. I am the perfect gentleman, you know.

Security was tight, and people were very well behaved. For the time I was there, 3:45 pm – 7:00 pm, I didn’t witnessed any ugly scenes in form of violence, skirmishes, thefts, accidents, or even arrests. Uganda Police, supported by KCCA law enforcers, a few Military Police personnel, and private security operatives, ensured that people’s lives and properties were safe. I therefore, commend these security agencies, and Ugandans, for being vigilant and disciplined thus achieving truly successful celebrations.

I commend KCCA leadership, under Lord Mayor Lukwago Erias, and Executive Director Musisi Jennifer, for this wonderful initiative. KCCA deserves our cooperation and should be enabled to continue organizing similar celebrations in the future. To my mind, there are many possible ways in which we can assist KCCA, but the best form of appreciation we can give the Authority is taking pride in, and cooperating with it to further implement its programs. There are simple basics, for instance, paying promptly all due taxes and other charges, avoiding littering and dirtying the city, keeping away from all protected green areas like the grass, shunning illegal trading, and generally giving city authorities the benefit of doubt for them to be able to fully and effectively implement their mandate.

We should also help to publicize this event, so as to make it a tourist attraction in itself, by informing and encouraging our friends, relatives, and citizens of other countries, to always attend it. That way, we shall attract foreign revenue in our country. Kampala City Festival oyeee!

Love Doesn’t Exist

By Bakampa Brian Baryaguma

bakampasenior@gmail.com; www.huntedthinker.blogspot.ug

This year is soon ending; and the next soon coming. So, 14^th February is around the corner – the day known as St Valentine’s Day in the courtship world. It is alleged that it is a day for lovers. As the world braces itself for it, the grossly misleading allegation is that, love is filling the air! This is not true. Love doesn’t exist in this world – it has never and will never be so, just because it is impossible to attain love.

My contention is that all human relations are economic. Economic relationships hinge on exchange; the giving and receiving of things in return. Talk of something for something life (or love if you want). What matters here is what you have to offer to others. Period!! This applies to all sorts of human interactions. It is so serious that if you have nothing to give, even your own children will leave you!

People primarily exchange two things: time and money (or other material possessions instead of money). One must have either or both of these two before they can be in this thing called love. They are the essence and conditional requirements for love to exist, especially money. Nature made it in such a way that the man should have the money to spend on the woman and the woman, the time to spend pleasing him in exchange. But this is changing today although nature cannot be cheated.

Hence even in rare circumstances, as usually portrayed in Nigerian Movies, where a rich girl ‘loves’ a poor boy, the conditional requirements of love still stand out: the girl must have the disposable wealth and the boy, the time to spend satisfying her emotional needs. Moreover, this is normally where the boy has a promising future. For instance, he could be brilliant in class or simply strong and hardworking, thus evoking expectations of future benefit.

Recently a female friend of mine cheekily commented on Facebook that if you cannot pay cash for something, know that you cannot afford it. Now, all these are selfish considerations. And if St Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 13:5 that love is not selfish is anything to go by, then there can be no love at all.

So, if there is no love whatsoever, what is there? I aver that “acceptance” is the nearest there is. We relate with the people around us not because we love them but because we choose to accept, take and tolerate them the way they are. We live in a pitiable world doing one another mere favours without profound attachment such as love demands. The difference between love and acceptance is debatable. Suffice to say that love represents a higher form of benevolence and benignity which is far beyond human reach, for all have fallen short of the glory of God.

It is therefore a misnomer to call St Valentine’s Day a day for lovers; rather it is a day for men and women making brisk business in the guise of love. In this materialistic world, the day presents a golden opportunity for people to lie to one another saying that “I love you” and get away with it.

But many people do not accept this truth because human nature is such that we like deceptions and self-consolation through false hopes and assurances. Nevertheless, this cannot negate the truth that love doesn’t exist in this world. Nowadays, people talk of “true love”. I am not sure whether there is false love also. This is evidence of the erroneous self consolation that I am talking about.

Religious Leaders Should Stop Discrimination Against Christians

By Bakampa Brian Baryaguma

bakampasenior@gmail.com; www.huntedthinker.blogspot.com

On 20 December 2014, I had the honour and indeed privilege to attend a couple’s wedding ceremony at one of the Catholic churches in Kampala. There was a wedding mass first and later, the wedding reception. Both functions were wonderful: the celebrant, a reverend father, preached very well; and the party thereafter was awesome.

The bride and bridegroom were very handsome and smart. The two lovebirds smiled endlessly to one another and the rest of us in the congregation. To my mind, this confirmed the eternal truth of the message in the biblical scriptures. Proverbs 18:22 says that when a man finds a wife, he finds a good thing, showing that the Lord is good to him. In the bride, the bridegroom found an excellent, befitting companion and received God’s favour. That is why he smiled all the way. Mathew 6:21 says that where one’s treasure is, so is one’s heart. Clearly, in the bridegroom, the bride found her treasure of love, joy and other blessings. I wish the two lovers well. May their marriage blossom with abundant peace and prosperity, with God being their strong pillar of support and comfort.

I now turn, however, to the not-so-nice bit of things in the proceedings of the wedding mass. I was shocked by the show of discrimination, coupled with what I really considered (and still consider) to be opportunism. For the record, while the bride was Catholic, the bridegroom was Anglican. This means that the mass was attended by people, relatives and friends, of both Christian faiths.

Time came for us to give offertories. The celebrant called upon us, without distinction, to give our gifts to the Lord. All of us (or at least most of us) complied, without exception, by giving generously and whatever we could (hopefully), after which the offertory was blessed by the celebrant, who thanked God for it and requested Him to give us more from His abundant wealth.

Then came time for Holy Communion: the symbolic eating of Jesus’ body and drinking of His blood. At this moment, the rules of the game (if I may just call it a game) were instantly and sharply changed. The celebrant did not call upon everyone to eat and drink. Rather, he only invited his fellow Catholics in attendance, saying that, ‘Those of the Catholic Church come forward.’ The Catholics moved forward, while the rest of us stayed behind. I thought this was tantamount to discrimination and opportunism, which, for the following reasons, are completely wrong and unfair.

First and foremost, I do not think either God or His son, Jesus Christ, in whose memory Holy Communion is celebrated, would endorse this malpractice, moreover committed by men of God, in the House of God! Jesus treated his followers equally without distinction. When he fed the 5000 and 4000, He did so for all those present, including the pagans who doubted Him. He did not discriminate against anyone.

I submit that our religious leaders, who are His successors on earth, should do the same to His people, more so, when it comes to renewing our faith in our Lord by partaking of His body and blood in memory of Him. We may have allowed a lot of confusion about the Lord’s ways to creep and settle among us – as shown by the many Christian denominations and their philosophies – but surely this regrettable confusion should not be extended to renewal of our faiths in Jesus, as exemplified by Holy Communion, which for me is a very simple and straightforward matter, because there is only one Christ for all of us, from whose body and blood we all eat and drink. Jesus’ grace and salvation are for all His followers.

I am sure that the almighty God who sits high up in heaven, with Jesus Christ seated on His right hand side, in abundant and eternal glory, shuns and condemns this practice like I am now doing. I therefore, call upon all church leaders, right from the highest seats of authority in the world, to revisit, with a view to reconsider, this malpractice.

Secondly, as a matter of principle, this conduct is opportunistic and certainly wrong, because it defeats all logic. I take it that by all of us giving our offertories without exception or distinction, we were building the kingdom of God together. It follows therefore, that we should all receive the fruits of the joint effort, again without exception or distinction. To do otherwise, is to be mean and selfish – vices strongly condemned by the God we all love and serve. Justice demands that when two or more people embark on a common enterprise, be it good or bad, they should participate in reaping the fruits of their common endeavours. If the seeds sown were good, they reap beneficially, but if the seeds were bad, then equally so, they reap poorly or by way of punishment, as the case may be.

On the contrary, in our churches today, we do the sowing together, but the reaping is for the select few. This is very unfortunate. It militates against good sense and fairness. It is undoubtedly unpleasing to the Lord. I therefore, suggest that thenceforth, religious leaders should allow every person to renew his or her faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Here, the word person means and includes Christians and non-Christians alike. For we should remember that Jesus is the healer who came for the sick, not necessarily the well. This way, we shall be able to build a church that truly stands as one, in Christ Jesus.

I am aware that in order to achieve unity and harmony in the church, our religious leaders have devised joint working groups and mechanisms, serving as centres of mutual cooperation and strategic development, for example, the Uganda Joint Christian Council (I stand to be corrected). These are wonderful and welcome developmental achievements, but I tell you brethren, all efforts under these umbrella organizations will come to nothing, if we maintain the Chinese walls and fallacies that have been firmly built and entrenched in the philosophical foundations and practices of our splinter groups, even on basic doctrinal values like Holy Communion. After merging together administratively, we should go back and remerge philosophically and practically, as much as we possibly can, with Jesus Christ, the firm foundation of the church and whom we all love and serve, being our helper.

Judas Iscariot: Christianity’s Unsung Hero

By Bakampa Brian Baryaguma

bakampasenior@gmail.com; www.huntedthinker.blogspot.ug

For a long time, great injustice has been done against this really innocent man – Judas Iscariot! Christianity has deliberately portrayed him as being monstrous and a villain. For instance, the Bible in Luke 6:16 refers to him as ‘the traitor’ and in Luke 22:4 as a ‘betrayer’. For the following reasons, I submit that this is gravely wrong, unfair and definitely misleading.

It is clear and undisputable from the scriptures that Judas Iscariot was a duly chosen apostle of Jesus Christ. Like all the other eleven apostles, he was to help Jesus in fulfilling his purpose and mission on earth, chief of which was to die for our sins on the cross, so that we may be redeemed from the power of evil. In Luke 9:22, it is stated that, ‘... The Son of Man must suffer much and be ... put to death ....’ Likewise, Luke 22:22, reads that, ‘The Son of Man will die as God has decided ....’ It is glaringly clear that Jesus’ purposive death was divinely predetermined and sanctioned.

Yet it was only natural, and logical that Jesus Christ should not kill Himself or be seen to have stage-managed his own death. This would be tantamount to suicide which, is an abomination and highly disgraceful. Consequently, there was need for a medium or conduit through which God’s purpose on earth could be fulfilled. It is my contention that Judas Iscariot was the avenue for the realization of Jesus’ noble duty on earth. Therefore, he was only playing his especial role in building the kingdom of our Lord Christ Jesus, and for this reason, Judas deserves special recognition in Christianity.

I know that in Luke 22:22 Jesus says that, ‘... but how terrible for that man who betrays him!’ My view is that this is the mother of the terrible injustice meted out against Judas Iscariot. Without Judas’ intervention, Jesus would not have died for us on the cross, and there would be no salvation for mankind especially, for Christians who, therefore, have an obligation to accord him due respect.

I believe Judas is not different from Simon Peter who denied Jesus three times because both were acting under powers beyond their control, and there is no point in assuming that one is any better than the other. This is playing double standards, and, of course, hypocrisy! Considering that Jesus is God Himself, and therefore omniscient i.e. all knowing, he purposively chose Judas Iscariot to do exactly what he did.

Moreover, it cannot be overemphasized that Judas’ betrayal of Jesus was beneficial to the entirety of Christendom and beyond. I have already intimated that thanks to him, salvation is now possible. It should also be borne in mind that all religious leaders today would be jobless, had Judas not betrayed Jesus. Plus, all other people engaged in the Ministry of Jesus in different ways, and at different levels, would be equally redundant and irrelevant – all of them; from Bible publishers and sellers, to Church ushers, and so on.

So, as we celebrate the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross, and his resurrection, during Easter, let us remember our duty to honour and respect Judas Iscariot, the man who helped to make it possible. He is Christianity’s unsung hero. Catholics should even canonize him, Saint Judas Iscariot.

Fasting God’s Way

By Bakampa Brian Baryaguma

bakampasenior@gmail.com; www.huntedthinker.blogspot.ug

Every year, devout Christians all over the world undertake their fasting period known as Lent. The Lent period is a moment of fasting and penitence, lasting for 40 days. It is a holy season that commemorates the 40 days, which our Lord Jesus Christ spent in the desert without food and drink, while undergoing trial by the Devil. As Christians, Lent is a period of renewal of our faith in our Lord God. During this moment, our commitment to the one true God is tested. But, what the Lord considers most during Lent are our deeds especially for others. In other words, it is a question of substance prevailing over form – and all the lawyers say, ‘Amen.’

The substance must be pleasant to God and this begs the question, how do I fast God’s way? For most Christians, they think that Lent is all about foregoing or abstaining from the eating and drinking of certain foodstuffs and beverages, more so, those that we cherish most. Unfortunately, this is not true. The good news though, is that the Bible tells us how to fast God’s way.

It is written in the book of Isaiah 58:6-7, where the Lord God says that, “The kind of fasting I want is this: Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives.” Oh my! How amazing! Let us take time to dissect and brainstorm on it briefly.

Removing the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice means that we should be fair to one another during Lent. Now, it is true that we have all fallen short of the glory of God and sinned against him, in the ways we mistreat others, as we pursue material and personal pleasure in this mundane world. Lent period is an opportunity to repent of all this by discarding all unfair and injurious practices like corruption, which has silently signed the death sentence for many of our brothers and sisters, thereby effectively sending them to their graves even before their due time!

Sharing food with the hungry and opening our homes to the homeless is a command that we ought to abjure greed and selfishness during Lent. Elsewhere in the Bible, Jesus says that we should live as one just in the same way as him and the Father live as one. We are expected to show tangible love to the less fortunate among us by accommodating them. As Tarcisio Agostoni mccj, said at page 28 of his book entitled May the State Kill?, “Love is the fullness of the law.”

Giving clothes to those who have nothing to wear is indeed as plain and simple as it is. What is important to note, is that we do not have to give the old, torn and unwanted clothes in our wardrobes. For that is not giving but dumping which is sinful in itself. But, of course, it is okay if that is what you can afford especially remembering that all that the old poor widow could give was a button from her old cloth. The bottom line is obeying Jesus’ command: love your neighbour as you love yourself.

None refusal to help our relatives should be broadly understood. The word relatives does not mean our biological or blood relations. Your relative is anybody who is affected or is likely to be affected by your conduct. Therefore, it is possible to have relatives who are miles away, whom we may even never meet in our lifetime. For example, I may never meet most of my ever growing number of online Facebook and Twitter friends, including the thousands of readers and visitors of my blog, yet they are nevertheless my relatives, and I am obliged to help them especially, during Lent. The word relatives here, is meant to enlarge the scope of duty to cover virtually everyone.

So much for how to fast the Lord’s way and I hope you now understand the purpose of Lent. Perhaps, you may be wondering why it is important to fast and go through Lent. To begin with, fasting is scientifically good for your body because it allows it to undergo metabolic cleansing. Spiritually, fasting helps us to amend relations with God as stated earlier, by easing communication.

But the Bible has a more elaborate purpose of fasting in Isaiah 58:8-12. It says, “Then my favour will shine on you like the morning sun, and your wounds will be quickly healed. I will always be with you to save you; my presence will protect you on every side. When you pray, I will answer you. When you call to me, I will respond. If you put an end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and to every evil word; if you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon. And I will always guide you and satisfy you with good things. I will keep you strong and well. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring of water that never runs dry. Your people will rebuild what has long been in ruins, building again on the old foundations. You will be known as the people who rebuilt the walls, who restored the ruined houses.” Incredible! Glory be to our God, the Most High.

The gospel of the Lord speaks for itself and this time round, I need not elaborate anything about it. In short, in the fasting season, we are all winners – the recipients of the grace of fasting, courtesy of the duties imposed upon those fasting and those who are fasting themselves, in terms of the Lord’s promises after observing Lent. Therefore, I hope to see a changed people in a changed world; all for the better, during and after this Lent period. I hope to see you exhibiting your relevancy by impacting positively on the lives of needy people from now onwards; the Lord God being our helper. Happy Lent to you all, my friends. God bless you abundantly. May he make you and I more prosperous and wiser, now and forever more. Amen.

Jesus Didn’t Insult Non-Israelites

By Bakampa Brian Baryaguma

www.huntedthinker.blogspot.ug; bakampasenior@gmail.com

I have many good friends. They are really good people. My friends come from all sectors of society, because I believe diversity is beautiful. They include Muslims.

My friends and I often engage in intellectual discussions, on various issues. Quite unsurprisingly, religious affairs are among our favorite topics of discussion, because they are always interesting. Recently, I had a discussion with some of my Muslim friends on who Jesus really came for – that is, whose savior was (or is) He?

I said Jesus was sent to all people, from all corners of the world. They said Jesus was sent to only the people of Israel (the Jews), arguing and insisting that it is Mohammad who was sent to all mankind. In order to buttress their views, they referred to a scripture in the Bible where Jesus supposedly said non-Israelites are dogs. They wondered whether it can be reasonably said that somebody came to bring salvation to dogs.

The scripture in question is Matthew 15:26. This scripture is part of an encounter Jesus had with a Canaanite woman of great faith. Let me reproduce the whole passage so that the context of Jesus’ words can be fully noted. I quote from the Good News Bible, Matthew 15:21-28 (see also, Mark 7:24-30). 

21. Jesus left that place and went off to the territory near the cities of Tyre and Sidon.

22. A Canaanite woman who lived in that region came to him. “Son of David!” she cried out. “Have mercy on me! My daughter has a demon and is in a terrible condition.”

23. But Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples came to him and begged him, “Send her away! She is following us and making all this noise!” 

24. Then Jesus replied, “I have been sent only to those lost sheep, the people of Israel.”

25. At this the woman came and fell at his feet. “Help me, sir!” she said. 

26. Jesus answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

27. “That’s true, sir,” she answered; “but even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their masters’ table.” 

28. So Jesus answered her, “You are a woman of great faith! What you want will be done for you.” And at that very moment her daughter was healed.

Taken at face value, or literally, it can indeed be said that Jesus said non-Israelites are dogs, in 15:26, especially considering that He had already clearly said, in 15:24, that He was sent only to the people of Israel (this is the scripture on which Mohammed and Muslims base themselves to say that he was sent to all mankind, unlike Jesus who they insist was sent to the Jews only).

But looked at more analytically, one finds that Jesus didn’t speak derogatorily of non-Israelites, supposedly calling them dogs. Rather, in speaking the way He did to the Canaanite woman, Jesus was only testing her faith, by kind of teasing her, and stretching her patience a little; but not intentionally frustrating her, to deny her request to relieve her daughter of the demon that was terrorizing her. This, to my mind, is the only logical explanation for Jesus’ speech. And that is precisely why Jesus finally told her that, ‘You are a woman of great faith! What you want will be done for you.’ Then we are told that, ‘And at that very moment her daughter was healed.’

In Romans 4:13 the apostle Paul says that, ‘God’s promises will come by faith.’ But God tests or allows our faith to be tested for authenticity or genuineness. God tested Abraham by requiring him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, whom he loved very much (see, Genesis chapter 22). God allowed Satan to test Job’s faith, by permitting Satan to strike Job with a dreadful skin disease, death of his children, and destruction of his property (see, Job chapters 1 and 2). Even Jesus Himself was tested by Satan in the desert (see, Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; and Luke 4:1-13). The apostles of Jesus were tested by subjection to cruel punishments, including death (see, Acts 12:1-5). But at the end of the day, these great men emerged triumphant. So it was, with the Canaanite woman. Hers was a test of her pride, by being seemingly compared or equated to a dog. She swallowed her pride, submitted to God’s authority, and like the others before her, emerged victorious. The nature and kind of God’s tests keep changing because He is too original to duplicate Himself.

So, we learn that God’s tests are not insults at all. Rather, they are just that – tests; which A.S. Hornby, A.P. Cowie, and A.C. Gimson, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English (1983), at page 909, define as a trial or examination of somebody’s powers, knowledge, skill, etc. God’s tests are innocent and harmless. Certainly, they are far from being insults. Tests are God’s techniques of judging our belief and trust in Him.

When we remain steadfast in our faith in God, with and/or in spite of our powers, knowledge and skill, we give meaning to the principal commandment that, ‘Worship no god but me’ (see, Exodus 20:3; and Deuteronomy 5:7), which Jesus stated is the greatest and most important commandment, clarifying it as, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’ (see, Matthew 22:36-38). We can only prove this love for God, by successfully passing His tests of our faith in Him, however burdensome or strenuous they may be. But one thing is for sure: God cannot test us beyond our ability to handle or cope with. Therefore, Jesus didn’t insult non-Israelites in His address to the Canaanite woman.

God Doesn’t Love Sinners

By Bakampa Brian Baryaguma

www.huntedthinker.blogspot.ug; bakampasenior@gmail.com

There is a common misconception among people that God loves sinners; moreover unconditionally. This is a fallacious argument. The justification given for this mundane claim is the statement by the apostle Paul, in Romans 5:8, ‘But God has shown us how much he loves us – it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!’ There are other related scriptures that are relied upon in this claim, but this is the most prominently quoted and relied upon verse.

On the contrary, I submit that actually God doesn’t love sinners. He dislikes them. And that is why He executes justice against them. This justice is not pleasant and desired by sinners, because it is not a pat on the back, or a flying kiss, or a friendly smile, or a bouquet of flowers, and so on. It is punishment, which, as defined by A.S. Hornby, A.P. Cowie, and A.C. Gimson, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, at page 690, is a, ‘penalty inflicted for wrongdoing.’ In this case, wrongdoing is sinning against God.

What happens in truth is that God is only patient with, merciful to, or tolerant of sinners, in spite of their sins. It is this patience, mercy, and tolerance that many mistake for being love of sinners. God is patient with, merciful to, and tolerant of sinners, so as to give them an opportunity to repent their sins, turn away from Satan and his evil ways that lead to desolation, and instead embrace their creator, God, who has plans of prosperity and a good future for them (see, Jeremiah 29:11), but not disaster, as does Satan.

God wonderfully and fearfully created mankind (see, Psalms 139:14) in His own image (see, Genesis 1:27). That’s why a person’s body is God’s temple (see, 1 Corinthians 3: 16-17). Now, when the person sins, his or her body (and consequently God’s temple) is polluted by that sin, and that draws away God’s spirit from him or her. The person loses holiness that is characteristic of God and His dwelling places. Yet God abhors sin, because it is contrary to His nature. So, He distances Himself from the unholy sinner, since like light and darkness, God and the sinner are incompatible, and cannot co-exist; so much so that God also forsook or separated Himself from Jesus while on the cross, (see, Matthew 27:46) when all the sins of the world were finally heaped on Him who was otherwise sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Dear reader, at this stage, the person is two-in-one – original good person, and now bad, sinful and unholy being. God always loves the first person – that wonderfully and fearfully created original person (for that bond is unbreakable, since even those condemned to hell, will always be God’s creatures); and that’s why He sent Jesus to salvage man’s sin-tainted soul by dying on the cross, as stated in John 3:16, ‘For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.’ It is in this line of thought that the apostle Paul wrote those famous and popular words, in Romans 5:8, ‘But God has shown us how much he loves us – it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!’ By these words, Paul meant God’s love for the original good person, now turned sinful, whom God is only patient with, merciful to, and tolerant of, desiring for him another chance at redemption. A selfish and diluted interpretation of Romans 5:8 will give it an utterly absurd meaning.

But God doesn’t love the second person – the sinner. That’s for sure, without doubt. The sinner who doesn’t make use of God’s grace period of patience, mercy, and tolerance, he or she must await God’s justice, which is his or her lot, as stated by the apostle Paul in Romans 6:23, ‘The wages of sin is death.’ The unrepentant sinner rejects God, thereby leaving God with no choice, but to turn away from him or her, because, as stated by Grace to You, God cannot look upon sin (see, Grace to You, ‘Why Did Jesus Cry, “My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”’ www.gty.org/resources/bible-qna/BQ032913). When God does this, He no longer loves that sinful person. Lest it be said that God and Satan are in alliance! This leaves the sinner to his or her chosen master, Satan.

Yet the two-in-one person must be judged as one entity by God. It is at this point that sinners get in a hopeless state, because God will either command or permit punishment upon them, since, as well stated and illustrated by Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, at page 230: 

Men cannot with impunity reject the warning which God in mercy sends them. A message was sent from heaven to the world in Noah’s day, and their salvation depended upon the manner in which they treated that message. Because they rejected the warning, the Spirit of God was withdrawn from the sinful race, and they perished in the waters of the Flood. In the time of Abraham, mercy ceased to plead with the guilty inhabitants of Sodom, and all but Lot with his wife and two daughters were consumed by fire sent down from heaven. So in the days of Christ. The Son of God declared to the unbelieving Jews of that generation: “Your house is left unto you desolate.” Matthew 23:38. Looking down to the last days, the same Infinite Power declares, concerning those who “received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved”: “For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. As they reject the teachings of His word, God withdraws His Spirit and leaves them to the deceptions which they love.

Misinterpretation of the scriptures has led to so much licentiousness (total immoral freedom to do as one pleases) among God’s people, vainly believing that they can sin and offend God, and get away with it; after all, they have His assumed divine promise of unconditional eternal love. This is regrettable ignorance of God and His nature; and Satan, in his characteristically cunning and deceptive manner, exploits this ignorance among God’s people, to his destructive advantage.

For, again as stated by Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, at page 331, ‘Satan leads many to believe that God will overlook their unfaithfulness in the minor affairs of life; but the Lord … will in no way sanction or tolerate evil. All who endeavor to excuse or conceal their sins, and permit them to remain upon the books of heaven, unconfessed and unforgiven, will be overcome by Satan. … The case of all such is hopeless.’ Their cases are hopeless because Habakkuk 1:13 has declared of God, ‘Your eyes are too holy to look at evil, and you cannot stand the sight of people doing wrong.’ And God Himself has declared, in Habakkuk 2:4, that, ‘Those who are evil will not survive, but those who are righteous will live because they are faithful to God.’ (Emphasis added.)

So, I assert that the evil ones – the sinners – will not survive, because God does not love them, while the righteous ones will survive, because God loves them. The statement by the apostle Paul, in Romans 5:8 should be put in its proper context. I hope this opinion goes far enough to make it better understood. Dear reader, may God bless you abundantly.

Relevancy of Jesus’ Cursing the Fig Tree

By Bakampa Brian Baryaguma

bakampasenior@gmail.com; www.huntedthinker.blogspot.ug

The Bible, in the book of Mark 11:12-14, gives an account of Jesus cursing a fig tree. The story goes that, Jesus and his disciples were coming back from Bethany. Jesus was feeling hungry and when he saw a fig tree covered with leaves at a distance, he went to see if there were any figs on it. Unfortunately, he found only leaves, because it wasn’t the right time for figs. Thereupon, he cursed it saying that, “No one shall ever eat figs from you again!”

The first impression that would come to the ordinary reader is that this was very unfair. Personally, I thought so, wondering how Jesus could have been so cruel to the innocent tree simply because it didn’t have what he wanted.

However, I have since learnt from Joyce Meyer that under normal circumstances, a fig tree with leaves, is supposed to have figs on it. In fact, Jesus himself explains this in Mark 13:28 when he says that “Let the fig tree teach you a lesson. When its branches become green and tender and it starts putting out leaves, you know that summer is near.”

It is during summer that fig trees bear fruits and according to Christian historians, this was summer time. There was absolutely no reason why the fig tree didn’t have any figs. In short, it was barren and therefore useless. Like salt that has lost its saltiness, this fig tree was worthless; only fit enough to be thrown out for people to trample on it. Read Matthew 5:13.

To Christians, the fig tree account is of great relevancy because it provides a yardstick upon which our Christianity is measured. The test is how useful you are to humanity.

It is important to find out whether anything useful is borne of us; or are we like the unfruitful fig tree in Luke 13:6-9 which was to be cut down for failure to bear figs thereby using up the soil for nothing.

For example, ask yourself whether you have put a smile on anyone’s face today. It is medically proved that smiling increases a person’s life expectancy. Therefore, by doing little favours to our neighbours, we are thereby making the world a better place for them to live and this is one of God’s purpose for us on earth; the other of course being to worship him unceasingly.

Good Christians are obliged to reach out to the needy in all spheres of life. For instance, we are called upon to help the poor, and not just those that are poor in terms of material possessions, but the poor in spirit as well. We ought to be vital and useful ambassadors of Christ by spreading the gospel both far and near.

In so doing, we should emulate the psalmist’s prayer in Psalms 67:1 that, “God, be merciful to us and bless us; look on us with kindness….” The will of God is important here because all is done not by human power or might but by the grace of the Almighty.

Of crucial importance too, is the need for us to live positively and cheerfully; for the simple reason that before one can purport to give love and happiness to others, he/she must be happy in the first place. Remember that good cannot come out of bad. Just Like light and darkness, the two are contradictory opposites.

From the fig tree story, we learn that the kingdom of God is result oriented. It is precisely for this reason that in Luke 6:44, our Lord teaches that “Every tree is known by the fruit it bears….” As Christians, we ought to evaluate and asses ourselves to find out how much fruits we have yielded for the Lord.

Traditional Leaders are Lower Than and Subordinate to National Leaders

Bakampa Brian Baryaguma

bakampasenior@gmail.com; www.huntedthinker.blogspot.ug

In late January 2017, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, of the Republic of Uganda, appointed ambassadors, and heads of diplomatic missions, and forwarded the appointees’ names to Parliament for approval, in accordance with Article 122(1) of the Constitution.

Appointee No. 35 was His Highness Gabula William, appointed Ambassador, in charge of Special Duties, in the Office of the President. His Highness Gabula is a traditional leader in Uganda, serving as the King of Busoga Kingdom. His official title, among the Basoga, is Kyabazinga. His appointment was controversial, with some people supporting, and others opposing it. Those against seem to have been the majority or most vocal; because I am reliably informed that he later rejected the appointment.

The reasons, and merits or demerits of the Kyabazinga’s appointment as ambassador, are not my concern, and point of discussion here. Those are largely speculative, and I wouldn’t like to engage in speculation. Rather, my points of interest are legal matters that came up in the debate.

The first, and most important, was a quasi-legal issue on the appointment’s social implication on the status of the Kyabazinga, and pride of Busoga kingdom in general. As required by Article 122(1) of the Constitution, such appointments must be approved by Parliament, which is headed by a Speaker. There is a specific committee of Parliament that vets and approves (or disapproves) presidential appointments. It is called the Appointments Committee, and according to the Rules of Procedure of Parliament, it is chaired by the Speaker of Parliament. In Uganda’s case today, the Speaker is a Musoga lady, Right Honorable Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga. She is a no nonsense, and very independent minded legislator. As far as Busoga society, and kingdom affairs are concerned, culturally speaking, Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, is a subject of the Kyabazinga, and therefore subordinate to him. Those opposed to the appointment partly based their objection on this, saying that the King cannot appear before his subject, to justify himself, for whatever reason. They even issued threats of a constitutional petition challenging the appointment in courts of law.

Yet Rt. Hon. Kadaga, as Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda, is a national leader who therefore, necessarily is superior to cultural leaders, because Uganda is a republic, not a monarchy. Therefore, national leaders take precedence over traditional or cultural leaders. Indeed, Article 98(2) of our Constitution states that, ‘The President shall take precedence over all persons in Uganda, and in descending order, the Vice President, the Speaker and the Chief Justice shall take precedence over all other persons in Uganda.’ Please note that the Constitution says ALL PERSONS, which means that there are no exceptions envisaged here. Therefore, Speaker Kadaga takes precedence over, and is therefore, superior to her traditional leader, His Highness Gabula William. If the Kyabazinga does anything (like accepting a presidential appointment) that requires him to appear before his otherwise cultural subject, he must comply. One cannot eat his cake, and also have it. The law must be followed.

The second issue was on the legality of the appointment. The argument was that according to Article 246(3)(f) of the Constitution, traditional or cultural leaders, like the Kyabazinga, are prohibited from having or exercising ‘… any administrative, legislative or executive powers of Government or local government.’ This argument is correct, because being an ambassador, necessarily entails having or exercising administrative powers of government. I contend that those without any administrative, legislative or executive powers are lower than, and subordinate to, those with them.

Understanding and Fitting Into the Post-Trump-Election World

Bakampa Brian Baryaguma

bakampasenior@gmail.com; www.huntedthinker.blogspot.ug

On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, Americans elected Mr. Donald J. Trump, the 45^th President of the United States of America. The presidency of the United States is the most important job in the world, due to America’s global dominance in virtually all spheres – economic, socio-cultural, military, political, etc. Mr. Trump was sworn in, and inaugurated as President, on 20 January 2017.

President Trump literally hit the road running, making bold and controversial decisions, and pronouncements. His most far-reaching, and widely reacted to decision is the Executive Order, slapping a three months suspension on movement into the United States of people from seven Muslim-majority countries namely, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen. The President explained that this was to give US authorities ample time to tighten border control measures, so as to prevent dangerous people from entering the United States.

The decision, coming soon after Inauguration Day, was sudden, unexpected, shocking, and quite disruptive to many people. Several were detained at airports across the US, and many more around the world were either denied visas to the US, or simply had their American visas cancelled. But the Order was later nullified, and set aside by US courts, although President Trump has vowed to reinstate it, and have it prevail. We wait to see how he will do so.

President Trump’s Executive Order faced, and received widespread criticism, and condemnation from people, both within and outside America. I am more concerned with the reactions of non-Americans. Suffice to say that for most contemptuous Americans, their negative reaction is just an overflow of their anger, and hostility towards Mr. Trump, accumulated during the campaigns, and their eventual loss in the polls, since most of them supported Mrs. Hillary Clinton for president. For them, this is just another golden opportunity to publicly humiliate the man they hate with a passion.

For the rest of us, non-Americans, Mr. Trump’s nationalist, exclusionary, and somewhat isolationist policies and rhetoric, are a wake-up call; a notification – perhaps a reminder – that things cannot, and will not remain the same anymore. For so long, America has played a godfather role in the world, so much so that a sense of expectation has been created among people of other nations that the United States will always be there for them especially, during difficult times, no matter what. Today, any talk or act, contrary to this expectation, unnecessarily sends chills down people’s spines.

But it is important to understand that under President Trump’s administration (and I dare say henceforth after him), America will not be a guaranteed place of refuge anymore. Therefore, countries and their citizens are challenged to sort out their own issues and problems, instead of either running to, or surrendering them to America for resolving. Much as the United States is a migrant nation, it should be appreciated that it cannot, strictly speaking, continue being as such, compelled and obliged to accept foreigners as of right. Like everything else, this too must come to an end, so that the American society settles, with known membership, and well laid out procedures of acquiring citizenship. And concerning allegations that President Trump hates Muslims, I don’t think he does. Rather, his comments are a calling upon Muslims to revisit their religion, and eliminate merchants of evil, operating behind the banner of Islam. Of all religions in the world, why should it be Islam on the spot, for the wrong reasons?  Something, somewhere, isn’t right, and should be rectified.