Sharia, corruption and all what not
By
THE renowned intellectual legend, Matthew Henry, was not just expressing sheer academic opinion when he aptly established that "a proud conceit of wisdom is the cause of a great deal of folly". The gruesome mental attack on Christians by one Mr. Abdur-Rashid Oye in his piece "Sharia: Christians unholy fear" (Vanguard, Thursday March 23, 2000 page 11) can best be explained with this aphorism as such an attack actually approximates to a great deal of folly.
Obviously, we observe that Oye is one of the pro-Sharia almajeris, but in making his assertion, he should have drawn a line between solemn truth and sheer sophistry. His inordinate attempt to obscure the truth about Christianity and divine law is to say the least, an infamy.
My focus here is not to present any thesis on Christian life and divine law but to explain in a plain term, the Christian stand on the truth of divine law as preached and practiced by the Lord Jesus Christ himself who is our perfect example vis-a-vis the Sharia penal code, and then proffer a sovereign panacea for it.
"And the scribes and pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and said unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned, but what sayest thou? ... So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, he that is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone at her ... And they which heard it being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one... When Jesus had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, where are those thine accusers? Had no man condemned you? She said, no man Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more" (John 8:3, 4,5,7,9,10,11)
Of a truth, Christ has not come to abolish the laws but to fulfill them. However, we see that both in percept and practice, Christ confirmed the biblical truth that "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23). Since the fall of the first man (Adam) and his wife (Eve), the nature of sin is inherent in mankind. The Mosaic law (from which the Sharia was derived) cannot set man free from sin and that is why Jesus Christ came into this world. He is the only source of true salvation from sin, hence he said: "If the son, therefore, shall make you free, yet shall be free indeed." (John 8:36)
No matter the form of punishment unleashed on the offender by the Sharia law, it has no divine authority to liberate man from the scourge of the inherent sin or any social vice. In fact, those that propagate and implement Sharia are also guilty of the same sin for which they punish others. This is why Christians in their most holy faith will ever remain firm and steadfast in their opposition and resistance to Sharia law.
In the real sense of the word, Sharia law is not a true divine law as Oye supposed because the Bible says: "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul ... (Psalm 19:7) whereas Sharia (the law of the pharisees) Jesus says it makes the soul "twofold more the child of hell." (Matthew 23:13). According to Oye (Abdyr-sharia?) in his lopsided assertion, "materialism is definitely the bane of christiandom today. The fear of the loss of having no field for vulgar recreation is the unholy fear behind Christians opposition to Sharia and nothing else."
He further went on to mention the Christians businesses which they are afraid to lose to Sharia as involving prostitution, hotel ventures, alcoholism and piggery.
However, the truth of the matter is that the issue of materialism and natural inclination to social vices is not only in christiandom. The late Gen. Sani Abacha who has been adjudged (by statistics and public opinion, of course) to be the most corrupt and morally depraved leader that Nigeria ever had is a moslem. Also, many prominent Nigerians who are involved in drug trafficking, prostitution, and even hotel ventures are moslems.
The only differences are that the moslem folks who are involved in those businesses fear their fellow moslems rather than God. So, unlike christians, they will not overtly accept the ownership of such businesses.
The point is this, to just be identified as a christian or a moslem is not the solution to the sinful nature of man, neither is the panacea to sin found in the Sharia legal system. But for the individual and in fact, the society to be free from sins and the social vices of immorality, corruption, prostitution, armed robbery, drug trafficking and the host of others, man must on a personal scale, acknowledge the fact that he is a sinner, confess those sins to God and with a faith in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ receives Christ into his life as his Lord and personal saviour and be determined in his heart never to go back to those sins any more. It is only then that he can receive salvation for his soul and be sure of spending his eternal life in the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus Christ confirmed this when he said: "Verily, verily I say unto you, except a man be born again, he can cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3).
Considering the colossal destruction of lives and properties in different parts of Nigeria through Sharia-related crises coupled with its inability to redeem mankind from the guilt and grip of sin, no right-thinking Nigerian will be left with any other option than to reject Sharia.
And for Abdyr-sharia to still garner the moral muscle to pull the most holy and divine Christians faith into mud in the defense of his Sharia law while the country still writhes in the agony unleashed on the citizenry from the North to the East by the Sharia débâcle, the best advice is for him to come out of his unholy fear and openly receive the Lord Jesus Christ as his saviour so as to be free from sin and not become the next victim of amputation by his almajeri cohorts.
Mr Onoja is a Makurdi based commentator on Nigerian affairs