If you discuss the beliefs of Christianity with the village diviner, the medicine man, he will say the … - Malidoma Patrice Some

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We each after a while have to become reconciled to what it is that our talents and appetites lead us to.

Malidoma Patrice Some

If you discuss the beliefs of Christianity with the village diviner, the medicine man, he will say the white man must be extremely stupid. The white man must be profoundly troubled - probably torn by a huge guilt connected to how he treated the ancestors - to think that villagers would buy the idea that someone died on the cross for us. They would say these beliefs are evidence that the white people killed someone of great importance, probably a diviner and a healer. If you kill a healer, you must make amends by appeasing the healer's spirit.

Extremely, Healer, Men, Stupid, Thinking, Villagers

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As long as we are not ourselves, we will try to be what other people are.

Black History, Long, People

I see too many people who jump into spirituality as a shelter to hide from reality. It doesn't work that way. The way it works is for the spirit behind you to follow you wherever you go, like a loyal soldier, and show you how to face up to adversity. If you can't face adversity, you will get locked into a new age perception that everything is fine when it isn't. That makes you vulnerable to being exploited by the person who comes along and says, "I am a psychic. I have studied with this guy or that guy, and I know what you should do".

Adversity, People, Person, Reality

The power of quiet is great. It generates the same feelings in everything one encounters. It vibrates with the cosmic rhythm of oneness. It is everywhere, available to anyone at any time. It is us, the force within that makes us stable, trusting, and loving. It is contemplation contemplating. Peace is letting go - returning to the silence that cannot enter the realm of words because it is too pure to be contained in words. This is why the tree, the stone, the river, and the mountain are quiet.

Everywhere, Letting Go, Oneness, Rivers, Stone, Trusting

One can say, 'Teach me what you know,' but the better request is, 'Teach me about what teaches you. '

Know, Knows, Request, Teach, Teaches

In Africa, you cannot come into a comfortable material lifestyle without going through Christ. So many Africans say, "I'll take the whole package. That way I'm sure I'll get what I want. " This is the compromise the rising urban class of Africa makes. Christianity is not seen as a soul-transforming device capable of producing redemption, but as a source of substantial material gratification.

Christ, Compromise, Device, Redemption, Say, Urban