By Takura Zhangazha*
I did not have to write this. But it was impossible to ignore. There is a pastor who
sort of decided to say the Earth's flat. In front of nodding heads.
I am sure that these nodding heads are probably accountants,
medical doctors, lawyers, political
scientists and sociologists.
All with the assumption that their preacher is always
correct. And must be followed to the
letter of whatever he says. Which is all fair and fine. In Zimbabwe we have a
constitutional right to freedom of worship. You are allowed to believe in what
you chose to believe in.
Jesus, Allah or Midzimu. Or anyone or anything else.
It remains your fundamental constitutional human right. What
has become interesting is the fact of pastors beginning to make claim to scientific
issues.
Including as argued
above argumentation around the issue of whether or not the earth is flat. Or
the true power of what we scientifically know to be gravity.
At worst these are laughable propositions coming from a so
called 'Man of God'. Until you crosscheck the nodding in affirmation heads in
his congregation.
It is completely unbelievable (no pun intended).
Grown men and women who would take their time to listen to a
peculiar ridiculousness even as educated as they are. And continue to sit in a
sermon where they are told things that do not make scientific sense.
Even as they work in hospitals, scientific laboratories and
social science institutions.
Makandiwa's flat earth theory is on the face of it a
publicity seeking ruse. We all know that the Earth is rotund and that it
revolves around the sun in tandem with other planets. At different intervals.
There is no wall at the end of the Earth. No matter how
thick your tie is. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West for
geographical and geological reasons.
God is not in that equation.
In saying this there is a specific naivety that I recognise
in many Zimbabweans.
We naively believe what we want to hear and we hear what we
want to believe. As it links and relates to what our local pastor or religious
leader says.
The reality of the matter is that we are faced with a lifestyle
crises. It is completely ridiculous to
have thousands of people sitting and listening and telling you that the Earth
is flat.
You have to quite frankly ask yourself them question if you
are right in the head. Literally. Even
if it is about your own faith which you have a right to, but in this day and
age you are querying that geography and aerodynamics which gets you on a flight
from Zimbabwe to China? In less than 24
hours? Without counting the airport stopovers?
So Makandiwa is not only misplaced about a flat earth theory.
He is also misleading the Zimbabwean public on the matter. Given his immense public stature he should
not be making such uneducated utterances.
It is what we were officially taught in school at various levels that the
Earth rotates around the sun. Even if I
wanted his supporters voters for an election I would and should know that this does
not tell the truth to the people. Its
again an attention seeking ruse.
But you cannot argue with religion in our current political
economic context. Too many of us believe
in Christianity. Too many of us would
believe Makandiwa’s statements that the earth is flat and pay to be lied
to.
Like I argued its understandable. WE are who we are. By experience and by acquisition
of knowledge in one form or the other (inclusive of the bible).
What I can safely assure any reader of this blog is the
scientifically veritable fact that the Earth is round and not flat. It rotates around the sun annually. If you go
to his church for whatever reason please correct him.
This rotation has nothing to do with Jesus. The sun is the sun. The Earth is the Earth. There is no edge of the cliff. The sun
sets. The sun rises.
And you are better off telling humanity, it will be alright.
Cde,
*Takura Zhangazha writes here in his personal capacity (takura-zhangazha.blogspot.com)
