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Renouncing the gods

Chinwe Nlemoha Written by Chinwe Nlemoha · 2 min read >

I have renounced my gods, I owe you nothing.

 “Who made you ruler and judge over us”

Exodus 2:14

Disclaimer- this is a controversial and sensitive issue that may not receive accolades, but my tongue is the pen of a ready writer, so here we go.

I met a lady recently that was recounting her plights.

Apparently, she was 35 years old and was not married because “they said” she is an outcast (OSU).

When I heard it, I just knew I was going to keep thinking about it and write about it. 

My next question was “who said? And it was not in a nice tone. 

MY ARGUMENT 

Article 1 of the Universal declaration of human rights declared that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” Our religions teach the same thing.

My bible tells me in Galatians 3:28, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This implies that everyone is equal irrespective of gender, birth, tribe, etc. 

My questions are- Who said? What were the grounds that led to the caste systems? Who were the people involved? Who offered themselves to the gods? Was it voluntarily or not? What are the requirements and the exit plans?

In the lady’s case in this article, she was not born when she became an outcast, her father and grandfather were not born too, they were just born into the bondage, and I am asking, who made it so? 

The answer is glaring, a man that ruled their village some 100 years ago claiming to be the mouthpiece of the gods. This man and his kind are holding them bound! They are stripping us of our humanity and making us see humans as abominable things. How many eyes can you make? How many arms can you carve? Or how many humans have you made?  

When you subscribe to some of these inhuman teachings of the gods, it is just like living on the terms and conditions of the people that are chilling in the grave while subjecting and imposing misery over people that are alive.

Who then made them judges and rulers over us? 

The Evil of the Caste System

What comes to mind is how the bible teaches that we were born into sin by no fault of ours, but any day the yoke of sin chokes you, you can run to the cross and receive salvation for your soul.

The cruel thing about the caste system is that it makes no provision for salvation. 

This lady, her father and grandfather never accepted the gods and their ways of living. They gave up their idols and followed the cross. They do not owe any man! Why should they be judged by ways they never embraced?

Wait! Did I just say they never accepted the gods? With or without accepting, let me tell you something. You will be inhuman and evil if you reduce a fellow human or refer to a human as low class or slave or any other demeaning title. 

Hold on! Check your life, in what ways are you different from the person you are discriminating against? You both have the same creator, you both have the same physical features, same mental features, same spiritual features (in some cases, they may even be doing better than you), how are you then different? You even answer to the same God.

WHAT AM I SAYING? 

“Owe no man anything, but love…”

Romans 8:13

I am human deserving of respect and love, you owe me this! We owe the people that have been marginalized an apology, we owe them respect, we owe them dignity; we owe them love.  

Another sad thing is that some of the promulgators and advocates of the caste systems are religious people and I wonder- “you would rather believe the words of your ancestors over the words of your God?”

Oh! I almost forgot. Is this how we want to start a new nation?

 IF YOU STILL DISAGREE 

I can understand why Mark 7:13 said “we make the word of God of no effect through our traditions, which have been handed down (through the elders).” (Paraphrased)

In conclusion, that lady is not the label you are calling her. She is a human being that deserves to be treated well. She has renounced her gods and she owes you nothing. In fact, you owe her an apology and then respect. 

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