Mark Horton, University of Bristol European museums are under mounting pressure to return the irreplaceable artefacts plundered during colonial times. As an archaeologist who works in Africa, this debate has a very real impact on my research. I benefit from the convenience of access provided by Western museums, while being struck by the ethical quandary of how they were taken there by illegal means, and by guilt that my colleagues throughout Africa may not have the resources to see material from their own country, which is kept thousands of miles away. Now, a report commissioned by the French president, Emmanuel…
Author: Pride Team
We carry a cross inside our heart to relieve our necks from dancing and singing to death, to relieve our heads from drinking too much blood to stupor like vampires, or to forget Noah’s flood where vanity became the only purity for worshipping death and beginning a new road to sunrise. We hide a cross in our heart to believe we’re gods who can drown in too much blood from liquor leading to stupor to gaze at our vampire faces in the mirror running away from sunrise or from staggering here and there to wet our starving muscles with…
Holy Humour Catholic Dog Muldoon lived alone in the Irish countryside with only a pet dog for company. One day the dog died, and Muldoon went to the parish priest and asked, “Father, me dog is dead. Could ya’ be saying’ a mass for the poor creature?” Father Patrick replied, “I’m afraid not; we cannot have services for an animal in the church. But there are some Baptists down the lane, and there’s no tellin’ what they believe. Maybe they’ll do something for the creature.” Muldoon said, “I’ll go right away, Father. Do ya’ think $5,000 is enough to donate to…
Michael Foley, Baylor University Each year the holidays bring with them an increase in both the consumption of alcohol and concern about drinking’s harmful effects. Alcohol abuse is no laughing matter, but is it sinful to drink and make merry, moderately and responsibly, during a holy season or at any other time? As a historical theologian, I researched the role that pious Christians played in developing and producing alcohol. What I discovered was an astonishing history. Religious orders and wine-making Wine was invented 6,000 years before the birth of Christ, but it was monks who largely preserved viniculture in Europe.…
Reading 1 Is 35:1-10 The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; They will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; With divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes…
Jason Bruner, Arizona State University The Christian Broadcasting Network, founded over 50 years ago by evangelist Pat Robertson, has now launched the first 24-hour Christian television news channel. Robertson said that the channel would help viewers understand how current events both in the United States and abroad affect them. The Christian Broadcasting Network has considerable influence among evangelicals, and President Trump, at times, has used the outlet to reach this support base. But this is not the first time Christians have shared and shaped the content of world news and information through a distinctly Christian viewpoint. Christian missionary publications For…
Nigerians woke up to the shocking news of the postponement of the presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission. The new date has been set to the 23rd of February – a week after the initially proposed date which was today. Patriotic citizens who travelled miles to different states, halted plans and even cancelled celebrations to ensure they cast their votes were met with the disappointing news. Nigerians have since taken to social media to vent their pent up frustration for the last minute cancellation by INEC despite having four years to prepare. See tweets below. Shame on the…
…Continued from Chapter Nineteen. It was him!!! Who in the world would’ve guessed all along that the ‘London boy’ was Lekan! The guy Tola had been talking about all this time was the same Lekan I dated back in school! I wouldn’t have believed it if someone else had narrated this story to me. Our hands were locked in each other’s for a few seconds, both dumbfounded, we had no words. A million thoughts breezed through my mind about the conversation we were about to have but I was too paralyzed to say anything. “Have you guys met before?” The…
Ini Dele-Adedeji, SOAS, University of London Nigeria is preparing for its general election. But will it be credible? Nigerian voters are well aware that the elections will not be won solely by votes or popular consensus. There are several other variables that influence election results. These include the incumbent’s control of state security apparatuses, grassroots structures, and control of institutions such as market traders associations, and the National Union for Road Transport Workers. The road transport workers’ union, which acts as a canopy for bus drivers, conductors, and motor park touts in Southwestern Nigeria, has a history of providing foot…
Uche Onyebadi, Texas Christian University Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and arguably its largest economy, is heading to the polls. It’s a good time to celebrate democracy – but also to ponder what has become of the country since it wrestled independence from the clutches of colonial Britain in 1960. To do this, I find it helpful to consider what some of Nigeria’s most celebrated cultural icons, among them musician, commentator and activist, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti – about whose political messaging I have written – the novelist Chinua Achebe and writer and activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, might say about their country if…