DEMOCRACY-PILL, THE PANACEA FOR AFRICA, IS A COUNTERFEIT PRODUCT

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )



Underdevelopment, famine, malaria, wars, mass abductions, corruption, unemployment, poverty: the diagnosis of Africa's condition cannot be darker. The wave of independence and freedom that swept over the continent 50 years ago allowed natives to take control of their own destiny. The movement was the epitome of the fundamental right for populations in different countries of Africa to exert power for their own sake. That is the basis of the democracy concept as outlined in its most spread definition. Nonetheless, the dream of autonomy for africans would later be destroyed by the work of heartless dictators turning countries into personal ranches, helping themselves by looting resources and enforcing brutal repressive policies against the slightest gesture of opposition. Few rulers embodied a vision of total independence and the courage to pursue it. Among them are Lumumba, Sankara, who not only believed, but most of all, fought for african development and Pan-Africanism, at the expense of their lives.

A second wave started rolling in the early 1990s, shaking fortifications of old established systems. Apartheid was halted, a dictator like Mobutu had to  loosen his grip on the people. But it is mainly in the last decade that all kinds of elections have been held in most african countries. Either presidential and national assembly elections or referendums, voting has become a trend that restores the feeling that the people is again at the center of future and destiny.

It's been years now that we keep swallowing the pill supposed to put an end to plagues and chaos. Despite enthusiasm and propaganda, support from westerner pharmacists providing the pill in large quantities, the plague is still roaming throughout the land. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation's estimations are of 239 million undernourished people in Africa. Regarding poverty, incomes are not sufficient, hence not enough purchasing power to acquire food and have access to basic goods and services. Around 400 million people live in dire poverty. Unemployment is also bringing its share of disaster in a continent were youth population is expected to reach 75 percent in 2015. Corruption, military conflicts and mass abductions complete the list.

The status quo is too critical to naively believe in a panacea :"democracy-pill". I am not saying that I am against democracy, but rather that we must pay close attention to what we are doing. No mentally stable person can believe that we are attaining sustainable development, by casting a piece of paper called ballot paper in a box called ballot box. Democracy as power of the people is basically the right and the will of the people to be heard and served. This not only when it comes to voting, but most of all, the people must be involved in all stages of the political course.

Democracy-pill, in its african version, poses a threat to the people meant to be its main beneficiary. There is a trap in two ways. First, democracy-pill is basically a counterfeit medicine produced in cheap laboratories. Sold to the poor lacking what it takes to purchase better, the counterfeit product doesn't only fail to heal, but brings horrendous side effects. Democracy-pill, african version, comes along with intimidation, repression of political opponents, and fraud. The second threat is that the pill is designed in a way to get things locked in a dangerous conformism. There is no african country whose elected president is impeached due to corruption or incompetence. It means that no matter what a president does, citizens must hold their peace and say nothing on the grounds of respecting the democratic constitutional order that stipulates that he was elected for a five years term for instance. Or, fraudulent legislative elections give presidents majority in the parliament and free way to amend laws and make oneself eternal president. All this shows that the demos is very far from having the kratos.

Years have passed, we have the same problems we had in the past. Only now folks start realising  that democracy in the way it was presented to them is a scam. Indeed, democracy-pill is less dangerous than dictatorship in terms of little evolutions in freedom of expression and liberalization of information, or the right to freely create or join a political representation. But all that is meager compared to crucial issues. People of power means power to appoint rulers who in return serve the people. People of power means power to hire politicians and fire them whenever they go astray from what they are meant to do.

Hadn't it been radical changes 50 years ago, african countries wouldn't have been able to snatch independence. And today to find the way back to development fathers of independence died for, a new leadership is highly needed. There must be a radical change in the way we view democracy. It must stop to be a morning stroll ending at a polling station where we cast papers in boxes. The solution should be the appointment of leaders and the establishment of clear provisions in laws enforcing the principle of accountability. Democracy can only be attained if the people have the right to fair elections and the power to hold their rulers accountable. Democracy is attained when the people's demands are fully respected.

                         

               AFRICAN STEREOTYPES

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )



The 18th century is commonly known as the century of lights with regards to the revival in sciences, arts and knowledge. Yet the 21st century can be tagged as the century of information. Never before information was easily accessible for large numbers. The complexity of the world and its different components can be grasped, erasing limited and simplistic beliefs held for absolute truths in past years. Stereotypes are meant to be dethroned by more accurate elements, giving a sight to the wonderful diversity different universes are made of.

 Nevertheless, the overwhelming amount of data stored in search engines and books does not always get the attention of many civilized people. Their scope of knowledge is limited to a bit of popular singing and some other stuff acquired from school and memorized through rote learning. That is what explains persistent stereotypes about Africa. Around the world,  the craddle of mankind is oversimplified with petty assumptions that are ridiculous at the same time.

A friend of mine forwarded me links to Youtube videos she posted two years ago about the issue. She is a congolese, grew up in South Africa and joined Canada some years ago. In the videos, she adresses the issue of african stereotypes through what curiosity would have some of her friends ask her. Of course, folks still thought Africa was a country, but some of the few questions she had to answer are: "You're coming from Africa,  so you speak African?", "In Africa,  do you have things like pizza?", "Do you have roads?".

I can't put all questions here but I won't forget to mention that someone was concerned about knowing if africans like chicken. It is  appalling and hilarious at the same time.  It is very paradoxal that in the age where knowledge and information is within reach, having smartphones, tablets,  the internet, platforms like Amazon or Scribd where self-education is not expensive, many people around the world don't know things that are merely basic.

This directly reminded me that few years ago, back home in Congo,  we entertained a whole family coming from the UK. They came in Kinshasa for an important ceremony taking place in our religious community. The kids were amazed to see people in Africa living in a big house, because they were told that in Africa we sleep in trees. They enjoyed their stay and were shocked that things didn't look like what they had been taught.

I recall that in high school we learnt about Europe, America, and Asia. We studied about kingdoms, emperors like Alexandre The Great, the Hellenistic civilization, phoenecians, Crete, and many other things. We also dealt with modern history and geography, countries, capitals, populations and so forth. It enabled us to know a bit more about the world, and today with news channels and various sources of information we keep on track with what happens everywhere.

Stereotypes are a result of a lack of interest in learning about others. Why will they learn about Africa? Will it change the fact that they are developped super powers?  Many europeans and americans hear of a country in Africa or somewhere else only when their boots are sent for military interventions. On top of that, as I said on my article about social medias, big channels focus on the negative side of things. As a result, the level of ignorance is unbelievable with stereotyping as the only option.

Citizens of the civilized world don't have to behave like primitives whose knowledge of the world was limited to how far their eyes could see. The world is big and beautiful and has to be explored for its diversity to be enjoyed.

                         

HEAR THE CALL AND MOVE FORWARD

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )


Three years ago, I was excited about completing high school to join South Africa to further my studies. I was readying to embark on a promising journey offering new opportunities to bring plans and ambitions to fruition. I had to leave my lovely parents and beautiful two sisters, travelling alongside with my older brother. The strong link built with family, friends and members of my community had to be stretched hence made less strong because I was going away. My awareness was brought to the fact that when life calls, one is always compelled to leave their comfort zone. Venturing to join an unknown outer world is something that keeps repeating itself.

Though life has a special way of treating us, we don't always like it. By observing we see that separation is a routine. A foetus to be born hears the call of life and the compulsion to leave mother's womb for an unknown yet better condition. Nevertheless the fear of the future's uncertainties is the major hindrance to answering the call of life. We have a strong propensity to refuse the call and remain in the comfort of the order of a situation. Change is not always taken as an opportunity but fear is deeply anchored in us.

The call of the future must yet be answered with a lot of positivism. Leaving the only world I ever knew was painful. But with hindsight, that was the best thing to do in terms of reaped benefits. Someone said "The future is not an inheritance, it is an opportunity and an obligation". An opportunity to get better and the obligation to do so. Not embracing the future is akin to death, lives stuck in the past, frozen stories that cannot be continued.

When life calls, answer. When the future calls, be bold to rise and move forward. It takes motivation and self confidence. My Dad likes telling us:"life does not spare anyone". If life never spares us, forcing us to go through all kinds of things it is made of, why do we spare life and are afraid to force it to accept that we are able to shape it and come out reinforced? Hear the call, embrace the future.


                       

AFRICA: LEADERSHIP IS WHAT WE NEED

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )


In every group or community leadership is of paramount importance. It is one of the fundamental functions in managing organisations.  Not only planning, organising and controlling are necessary activities, leading is what sees to it that an organisation is efficiently led to the attainment of its goals. Mastering the art of leadership ensures that a dream or a vision is made real. The question has been generating endless arguments, some arguing it is an innate faculty given to a few, others asserting that it can be acquired through a process of learning and practicing. Validating or refuting either one or the other theory is far from being our focal point. The focus is on how as a cure to various problems left without solutions it is not resorted to. Its role is neglected in the pursuit of development and sustainability.

Leadership is a word we hear a lot when it comes to making remarks about Africa. It is obvious that Africa is experiencing a dearth of such an important force.  A leader as the word shows is one meant to lead, embodying a vision or a dream driving him or her to influence others for realising things. A leader is able to motivate, and get the work done for reaching a specific purpose by using necessary means and suitable strategies.

Instead of leaders at heads of states we rather have simple rulers whose duties are limited to minimum service activities. Leaders with a dream and a vision for their country are a rare resource. Our presidents don't have any vision of the people's future and the future of the country. When their projects come under scrutiny-if they even dare present one-what catches the attention is how limited and poor their ambitions are. In a country with a high level of illiteracy for instance, a president found better to offer to build a stadium for young people to go watch sports, meanwhile there are not enough schools.

On top of the lack of leaders because of no dream and vision, we notice that rulers themselves don't lead by example. Politics is in general perceived as evil, linked to corruption and mischiefs. But it seems it's in Africa that the rule is very much verifiable. Involved in graft, corruption, embezzlements, money laundering and so forth, politicians have no accountability at all. When the head is rotten, much cannot be expected from other members of the body. It is very much like having a human body with a rotting brain. Depending on the brain to move and act, the whole body becomes unable to function naturally.

Suffering from a lack of strong leadership to allow that resources through planning, organising and controlling are used in the most intelligent way, we are friends to chaos. Short-sighted rulers unable to see beyond their lives' span or families' circles abandon millions submerged in abysses of underdevelopment and mediocrity.  With no vision of a better condition to lead the people to, nothing great can be expected. And as long as a strong and responsible leadership is absent, countries will be endlessly going through the fatal and notorious cycle of failure.

                 
                         

   AFRICA IN THE HOUR OF SOCIAL MEDIA

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )




The rapid evolution of events in Africa is a matter of interest. On one side wars, diseases, sicknesses, underdevelopment, on the other side an emerging continent with countries struggling to transcend and find a place in the universe of developed countries. Africa as a whole is the theatre of diverse evolutions that the eye cannot always catch. TV and radio stations are far from providing a full and accurate picture of various occurrences. Most of the time, the emphasis remains on the dark side. Wars, diseases, poverty and all that goes with it are the main topics. Mainstream medias are relied on to keep the world posted on the rhythm of events, having gained an aura that their words and reports are taken as gospel. Disagreeing means one is victim of some mental deficiency called “conspiracy theorism”, a disease of the century affecting huge numbers of people around the world.

The social media revolution has at least for now changed this reality to a small extent. The beginning of the twenty-first century has seen the rise of social networks, using the internet to connect people. It is now more difficult to suffer from a severe paucity of information, because masses have in their hands necessary tools to learn what is happening in their fields of interest, to spread whatever they deem relevant. First computers, now phones, the internet has made information easily accessible and shareable, and passed are the times the gospel of news was delivered by the only ordained and consecrated medias. A 12 year old kid with a phone can holler, using a hashtag on Twitter, getting hundreds of people to join and promote a cause. On Facebook, networks are built with random friends and one needs some skills plus brain power to manage and control a big circle of friends.

Like everywhere, Africans are very well implanted in social medias. Millions of them connect every day and share stories. Nevertheless, their impact in the social media landscape remains meager. Meager because posts' contents on Facebook or Twitter, Instagram, etc.. are simply appalling.  Most of the time private lives, pictures of parties, selfies, comments on a certain movie or song by an american artist, or some live-tweeting of an award ceremony are at the top of the heap. Africans have trivialized the power of social media and the impact of crucial information in the development and revolution we all believe in.

Following the last bomb attack that made 71 victims in Nigeria, I read a tweet that caught my attention. A nigerian was complaining that if the bomb attack had taken place in Europe, there would have been an outcry all over the world. With the liberalization of information, do we still complain that our stories are not making headlines to trigger an outcry, meanwhile we have large audiences on social networks? Africa does not need mouth pieces from Al Jazeera, CNN, BBC or whatever channel. Events known as “The Arab Spring” could never electrify whole countries and get crowds to come in droves for demonstrations if social networks were not used efficiently. The same approach has to be used on a larger scale for the whole continent.

The importance of social media must not be downplayed. Mainstream medias’ monopoly of information keeps crowds forced to swallow dirty substances of propaganda. Biased news and reports will only contribute to reinforcing the image the world has of Africa.  Africans needs to take advantage of the social media revolution, come with their own narrative, their own methods, to tell the truth of what is happening, without forgetting to mention stories of success, because not everything is dark. Africans are pretty set to act and no one will do that for them.

                           

FORGOTTEN GENOCIDE, WORSE THAN HITLER

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )

                               King Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909)



The Twentieth Century is known to be one of the most tense periods in modern history. Starting with the First World War, nations would engage in a larger and deadlier conflict, the Second World War. One of the headlines of the Second World War is the Holocaust, a genocide in which 6,000,000 jews died. Down through the century, conflicts and wars characterised human existence, untill the rwandan genocide in 1994. The duty to study history makes us ensure we remember those two genocides, in which lives came to a brutal end. Nevertheless, another tragedy remains overlooked. A tragedy whose horror is more terrifying than the mentioned twos. The forgotten genocide took place in the "Congo Free State" (1885-1908), orchestrated by worse than Hitler. Leopold II, king of Belgium, owns the record Hitler was not able to break. The Congo Free State genocide in which our fathers died, is a nonevent for many. A forgotten genocide, a forgotten story.

Leopold II, uncomfortable in his tiny domain, would convince the international community to let him occupy the country now known as "Democratic Republic Of The Congo". The intent was to bring development and spread civilization in faraway lands of Africa. European nations in deep naivety let him get his "slice of the african cake", as the need to free Africa from Middle Ages was compulsory. Leopold II inherited the land, eighty times as big as the tiny belgian kingdom. Leopold II owned the whole territory of DRC as a private property, forcing natives to work to exhaustion, in collecting rubber and ivory in the jungle. Brutal mistreatment of natives followed. When quotas of rubber were not reached, relatives of men working in the biggest Gulag camp, worse than Stalin's, had hands chopped off.

Resorting to murder, starvation, exhaustion, exposure, disease against local people, Leopold II brought masses into subjection. The death toll is believed to number up to at least 10,000,000. That is more than the shoah and the rwandan genocide combined. The tragedy inspired Joseph Conrad to write "Heart Of Darkness", describing the nightmarish condition in  which worse than Hitler had put millions. Others like Arthur Conan Doyle also raised voices to denounce atrocities commited by Leopold II, in the land ironically named Congo Free State. Doyle had to mention in his book The Crime Of The Congo what follows :"Finally Mr. Murphy says: "The rubber question is accountable for most of the horrors perpetrated in the Congo. It has reduced the people to a state of utter despair. Each town in the district is forced to bring a certain quantity to the headquarters of the Commissary every Sunday. It is collected by force; the soldiers drive the people into the bush, if they will not go they are shot down, their left hands being cut off and taken as trophies to the Commissary. The soldiers do not care whom they shoot down, and they most often shoot poor helpless women and harmless children. These hands -- the hands of men, women and children -- are placed in rows before the Commissary, who counts them to see the soldiers have not wasted the cartridges. The Commissary is paid a commission of about a penny per pound upon all the rubber he gets; it is, therefore, to his interest to get as much as he can." "

The Congo Reform Association and many others, came to realize that the humanitarian and philanthropic mission of Leopold II consisted of creating an industry of death in the heart of Africa. Human rights violations were denounced, and when Leopold II passed away, the Congo Free State fell under the control of Belgium. Fifty-two years had yet to pass before congolese snatched their independence. That period is not among the most glorious times of our history. Even though Leopold II was no more, the same colonial objective was being pursued by his successor, denying and violating human rights. Campaigners of civilization behaved savagely, showing a retarded behavior that natives met only in the jungle where there is no law.

No one hears about this genocide. There is no Yad Vashem to honor the memory of our victims. There is no international concern to remember that tragedy like in other cases. There is injustice in writing history. That is why we decide to take our pens to write. We decide to tell our stories. Passed are the times the gospel of news was delivered by the only ordained and consecrated medias. Passed are the times we all had to gather around the table to listen to a news bulletin. Comes the time we are all capable of bringing crowds to awareness of hidden realities that happened, that are about to happen in our lands. Comes the time we don't care about mainstream medias, whose role is nothing but excelling in manipulating and subjugating masses, forcing millions around the globe to swallow dirty matters of propaganda. Comes the time the memory of Leopold II victims has to be remembered, by all who have a sense of humanity in the current decaying condition of the world.



                         

          FEMINISM, NOT FEMADNISM!

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )

You suppport woman's cause, you fight for human rights and emancipation of women, I wish not to hurt you. Like you, I understand who women are and their contribution to mankind. No woman means no life. No life means death. We all cherish women in general and our mothers in particular. We are reminded how great is the role they played, that without them we wouldn't be here. But the cause of women has been hijacked by a minority. Vowing to be advocates of women,  they are destroying the very essence of womanhood. That is what I decide to call FEMADNISM, instead of feminism.

Some cultural backgrounds show that women remained in the backyard for long. Theories were developped, arguing that a woman cannot do more than childbearing and cooking food for her family. Today, minds are being transformed and wee see women having the right to education, enabling them to enter professional careers, giving their best and moving the world forward. This time not only with their wombs, but with other assets: their brains and minds. Women have proven that they are able to achieve great things when they are given opportunities. I myself have two little sisters, I want them to study and go far in terms of knowledge. Women deserve all of our respect and consideration. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go in respecting the rights of women in the world. I am from DRC, one of the countries where the rights of women are totally sabotaged.  DRC is the country where women have become a tool, being abused in the ongoing war, raped, trodden down. Those are stories that make us cringe.  Much has to be done and women deserve our support, to see to it that they gain their dignity, and occupy in our society the throne of honor.

But there is a movement nowadays that I find quite bizarre. The struggle for women's rights is one of the sacred causes one can commit their minds to. Unfortunately, some so-called feminists have adopted an approach totally absurd.  They go out topless to demonstrate,  showing off their bodies, as if that made any difference. So-called feminists will stand, defending prostitution and everything that goes with it, on the ground of women's rights. That is not feminism.  That's FEMADNISM. Femadnism because that's madness. Why not give back to women what they deserve? I never heard of those so-called feminists speak in favor of abused women in DRC, or little girls being married by bearded men who make them go through a calvary, or stand for any natural woman right. They are out there, shouting for some insignificant matter, meanwhile topless. Is that what feminism is about? That is certainly not what women need. That does not help the cause.

Women from all sides, the struggle is being hijacked as serious matters are not being adressed. A woman will never be fulfilled the day she is granted the right to walk naked or have sex with as many as partners she wants. If the struggle is about showing off one's body parts, or having sex, haven't female animals reached total emancipation? Woman's dignity is beyond that. Woman's  dignity is divine and sacred. May the struggle be focused on serious matters, such as education, security, opportunities,  rather than insignificant pieces of insignificance.

                             

                                    ILLUSIONISM

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )



As  I come to meet people and get acquainted to their views, plans and projects in life,  I came to a strange discovery. It deals with the standard from which every dream is built. Stories of success in terms of finances, assets and so forth, became a pattern to which every human achievement is compared. Easily, they want to be like Bill Gates who made his first million while very young, or any other rich person. I have nothing against such, and I myself would be proud and happy if I could realize what Gates did. The concern is that struggling to make one's life be like Gates' is more likely to fail, and is a proof of a lack of creativeness in bringing a new story of success, hence venturing to  live someone else's life.

Illusionism has led some to have big dreams with small work. Those ambitions of greatness have an ephemera effect on minds, like drugs, relieving the subject for a moment, while lost in fantasies and fairy tales. It would be appreciable if people had a clue on how to build their future.  However, they only have blind faith in something that doesn't exist nowhere, except in their minds. Faith is not blind, faith is real. When one gets into his car, they are sure they have enough strength in their hand to take the key and start the engine. Faith is knowledge of having the potential to fulfill greatness. Faith is not an illusion, faith is real.

I am a strong believer in myself and in people, but I also believe that sometimes we need to "take our heads off the clouds and hit the ground". Let every man work in accordance to his calling, let his dream be exceptional. There is no greatness in adopting someone else's path. There is glory in opening a way through a rock. Once we get there, we see life differently. When we are sure we have the elements to fulfill our dream, we don't dream but rather work. As a common saying states: "before a dream to become reality, one has to wake up".

                               

                 MOTHERLAND

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )

In the center of Africa is a land
Made of rivers, valleys, forest and sand
Full of minerals and full of riches
A place of rest and refuge for the troubled
A haven of rest, heart of a desired continent
Whose beauty and glory reminds of paradise

To the land desolate and away from people's sight
Came the first humans in the great adventure
How amazed they were to discover beauty of a jewel
That would attract the attention of many more
As the course of time carried on the race

From the North they came, not to contemplate the beauty of motherland
They came with lust and greediness to devastate and destroy
As mother was defenceless, her children were not strong enough
To make sure her beauty remains spotless
In the perfection her Creator bestowed upon her

Years of blood and years of shame
Oppression, humiliation and human's violence
Mother was stabbed in the heart, her precious children fell victims with bowed heads
As the world watched her blood run
Till the streams became like a river of death
In which martyrs of the independence drowned
With wolves around quenching their thirst

But in fact mother was in travail, having severe birth pains
About to bring forth a child
A child that finally stood strong and firm
Defying brutality and dominion of predators
Who looked confused without understanding
The driving force of their will
To be free from boundage and contemplate the beauty of mother

What a blast and what a thunder
In the ears and minds of oppressors
They were struck by a lightining
That blinded their colonial ambitions
Because the child was resolved to fight and bring mother to glory
To make her a paradise
In which future children would come
To enjoy the blessings of the land
And to kiss her with love of sons and daughters

Mother to whom we remain true, whose dress(flag) we honor
Mother that brought us into the world
And that opened the door of the worlds to us
Mother we will always love. Mother still young
Mother regenerating herself
Mother still flourishing with greatness
DRC our Motherland.

                         

HOMOSEXUALITY, WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )

        Today, human rights have become of great concern to everybody, political leaders and countries are judged by their way of dealing with people's rights and freedom. Western leaders are the ones advocating for human rights-though they violate them everyday with their NSA and whatever spying techniques, torturing people, Guantanamo and so forth-and some go as far as to deliver sermons of love and tolerance, as they mention Jesus and the Bible to support gay rights. I am writing about this issue to show what the Bible really says about same sex relations, so that people may know where to draw their arguments from and to show if there is any way to rest upon the Bible to be an advocate of homosexuality and gays.

Starting with Genesis which is the "seed book" of the Bible, we discover God's attitude towards homosexuality in the narrative of Sodom and Gomorrah. We find  in Genesis references about it as follows: Genesis 13, verse 13:"Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord." The story carries on like this: Genesis 19, verses 1 to 10 inclusive:"The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.“My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.” But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.  Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”  “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.  But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door."

The story ends when God finally destroys Sodom and Gomorrah with fire in the same chapter from verse 23 to 28:"By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace." God's attitude towards homosexuality is clearly defined here.

Those supporting homosexuality on the ground of God's love must suffer that we present yet other biblical references because they are speaking about what they do not know. God driving the children of Israel out of Egypt in the great exodus told them not to imitate customs and habits of people living in Canaan at that time. Among those filthy habits homosexuality is once again mentioned,  as we can read in Leviticus 18 verse 23:"Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable." The Bible clearly condemns homosexuality and considers it as a sin! In the New Testament in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 9-11 the Bible says again:"Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who have sex with men, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

The point of this text was to show that the Bible is totally against homosexuality. There is no way to take the Bible and preach that God supports homosexuality. Standing for homosexuality tantamounts to standing against the Bible! Homosexuality is a choice that people make and they remain free to choose that. But the Bible is against that. Going through the scriptures-you have had the opportunity to read the Bible today- gives a clear understanding. God is a God of Love and compassion, forgiving sinners, but also a God of anger when people do what He declared to be wrong in His Bible. Our God, the One we believe in, is against homosexuality. I accept that people are free to be gays, but I totally refuse them the right to use the Bible to pretend it is acceptable. It is not acceptable, it is detestable.

                           

   ATHEISM vs RELIGION

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )

 We cannot pretend to understand the world when we overlook the elements that constitute it. The world is made up of people whose lives are controlled by their beliefs, their values, and that is what drive their acts. Speaking about the world today does not only refer to the earth as a planet, but to a dynamic set which comprises different people, different views, different laws and cultures. With this approach I am going to speak about a topic which is of great concern to me: Atheism and Religion. With the development in our way of living, materialism has had a strong impact on our minds and has led us to believe that the natural craving for the unseen and the supernatural is a foolish thing, that only what we see and prove can be established as true. All this needs to be discussed and we have to look at this issue very seriously.

When we look back in history, we get acquainted to discovering that all civilizations of old allotted a great importance to the divine and the unseen, they all had a certain concept of God which they defined in their cultures and religions by rituals and forms of worship. It is also noticed that philosophers like Socrates-one of the pillars of western philosophy- and even those who came before him, believed in the existence of a God. Socrates is associated with the famous "Know Thyself", which referred to God or gods. Another great philosopher, Descartes, came to realise the existence of God when he divided our ideas in three categories: ideas that we receive from others, ideas that we create ourselves and ideas that we are born with. He discovered that he was born with the idea of perfection that he declared came from God himself. But on the contrary, today, science and wisdom mean rejection of any idea of God. Only mentioning these two great men, we see that their work and ideas explain a very natural thing: man's desire to worship, man's knowledge that there is something somewhere that we are pursuing. This aspect shows that man is not just a mass of flesh like any other animal, but men are given a supernatural element that enables them to connect with the unseen.

Now, atheists will tell you that there are many religions and many gods. It is true that in their quest for the supernatural, men have come across many discoveries. That quest being a journey, like explorers, they have come to places and so forth, they have seen many things, each one tried to describe it in their own way, gave it names according to their own understanding. When an equation is given for people to solve it, the fact that each one finds a different answer does not tantamount to the answer not existing. It is rather the greatest proof that the answer is there somewhere.

Atheists will depict us as blind believers and people lost in the wilderness, but that is not true. I met someone as I was travelling in a train; he told me something of paramount importance. He said "always believe in something, either it is right or wrong". I don't encourage people to believe errors and false things, but the principle of believing something cannot be neglected. Yes, atheists are also believers, and they're blind believers too. When you read about the BIG BANG, you have to wonder whether the people who believe in it where present to witness that oh so great event. And even when they mention the evolution of the universe and the evolution of man, they are really believers in something, except that their belief has to be seriously questioned. In terms of logic, you can't say that creationists are wrong because they believe in creation. The Big Bang that atheists believe in is their explanation of the creation of the worlds that we have today. They are creationists too, because the very elements from which the universe and men evolved had to be created first!

Athesists ask for a proof that God exists! That seems to be a stronghold in their mind. But what is essential about it is that they are asking only for scientific proofs while they know that everything cannot be proven scientifically. And before something is scientifically proven, it already exists even though you are not yet aware of it. Television was discovered not long ago, but waves always existed. We were late to discover how to grasp them and have images displayed on screens. Man is too slow to grasp all the good things that God put down here. The story of Galileo Galilei is very telling. People who have the ability to discover things that are contrary to the common way of thinking are treated as fools. The point here is that as long as all the elements have not been explored, calling oneself an atheist is a wrong conclusion. To refute the existence of God you must explore and master everything. And as long as atheists are still asking for the evidence of God's existence, which evidence they may get one day very soon, it does not make any sense that they quickly decide to call themselves atheists. 

I therefore conclude that atheism is based on materialism, an approach that has totally denied the supernatural self of humans and has lowered them to the level of beasts, flies or any other kind of animals. Atheism denies human nature, atheism is against the world, atheism is against life (because there's no life without a Source of life), atheism is one of the worst ideas and philosophies that ever came out of someone's brain, and unfortunately many people have fallen for it. Religion is one of the greatest things that happened to mankind. Doctors will tell you that it plays a role in having a good health. Religion is the first step to unlocking the mystery of God, the universe, and mankind. Religion remains. Contrary to Nietzsche God is not dead, He remains alive while Nietzsche is dead and will never live again.

                                    

DEATH

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )

Last Sunday I came across the news that a person I knew, a quite beautiful girl, was shot dead by robbers. This news was saddening and up to now I still think about it and it's really touching and shocking. In this I came to realize once again that human life is so fragile. I compare it to a man walking on a very small rope, without being certain of how long he'll go, being quite aware that he can either make a mistake and fall down, or the rope can break, making him wander in void space and fall on the ground in terrible destruction. That's the image I think is suitable to describe our fragile existence.

The lesson I learn from this event and that I'd like to share with you is that we don't know when we'll be leaving this place. We came here on earth without our will as we were never asked wheter we wanted to be born or  not. Dad and Mum decided to bring us. So it is for death. We don't have a word to say about it, but the One who controls it can direct it our way whenever He wants.

The main concern is for us to be ready to meet the unknown reality that unfolds after death. To be sure that we're not dying like cowards, that we're not flies vanishing, but we're the supreme form of life that exists. There's a supreme condition awaiting us if we have lived right all the way and have made ourselves ready to face death. With courage, strength, we can leave behind us footprints that others can follow, memorial to the world around us. That's the only way death will be precious to us, a deliverance from sufferings and struggles in this difficult life.
                               
                         

Happy New Year

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )

May this new year 2014 bring what Heaven has in store for you. May you face the new year with much hope and faith, go through the challenges ahead being more decided and resolved. "New year" doesn't mean turning a new page or changing the calendar, "new year" means turning to God, the only Master of time to Whom we owe our devotion and all we are. Let's get closer to Him in this 2014 so we'll be sure when time and years are gone, Eternity is insured for us, as we'll be living with Him FOREVER. I love you. Simeon Nkola M

  A CERTAIN DAY IN NOVEMBER

by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )

  A certain day in November
  Little queen was tired having to suffer
  She carried in her young body
  A being that the world wanted to see.                            
  Tired but with much love and care
  She gave birth late in the evening
  A small boy to his mother dear
  Whose fate was decided in God's thinking.

  Dad the hero learnt about the event
  What a joy and what an excitement
  That again he had brought one more being
  In the great and big world of the living.

  Then he said "His name is Simeon"
  Luke chapter 2, the prophet Simeon
  And he said this one too will not die
  Until he comes to meet God's Messiah
      
  Life started with uncertainties but faith
  Unconscious, God watching over his fate
  As he grew in stature and in force
  Untill today when he's plus one year old

  That day in November,
  This day in November
  Remains the greatest day on the calendar
  For little boy whose life is led and guided
  By the God who holds it in His Hand.


                         

WELCOME

Hello, I am Simeon Nkola Matamba. Human's mind is able to conceive and develop ideas and thoughts, human's mouth expresses what the mind conceived and cooked. But still words spoken fly and one does not always remember what they said. That is why the invention of writing has been of great help to preserving ideas and thoughts by writing them down on solid materials, seeing to it that what is written is kept available to readers for a long time. In this regard, I have decided to create this blog as I intend to be sharing my thoughts. Welcome, and I wish you a great time as you will be going through my lines.

                            by Simeon Nkola Matamba ( Follow on Twitter )