By Douglas ANELE
THE Second Resurrection of Jesus Ibn Maryam: The Blowing of Another Natural Mystic Trumpet, was written by Issoumaila Oyewumi Oyetunde and published by Trafford Publishing, Canada in 2009. The little book is an attempt to present in a handy volume some ideas and perspectives on man and his environment culled from different religions, philosophies and science.
The 2nd Resurrection (my shortened version of the title) is presented in the form of a letter to the entire universe through mankind. It is a 91-page work which contains the title page, copyright page and an introductory correspondence that sets the stage for the discussion proper.
In the correspondence, the author alluded to “two related truths” he discerned from reading Awake! and Watchtower of “May 15, June and July 2007”, and a free e-book entitled End of the Times and the Mahdi, published by Harun Yahya.
The first truth is that the world is passing through a period of intense material and spiritual tribulations, and that a “rescuer” will eventually emerge to save the earth from its perilous and parlous condition. The second truth is that the author felt the presence of the saviour, messiah, or mahdi. Indeed, Issoumaila Oyetunde claimed that he is current messiah, and that for over a decade now he has been trying to make public his recommendations on how the troubles of humankind can be eradicated.
He further claimed that he is endowed with the spiritual and intellectual skills that would put him “…in the shoes of the Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the true philosophers and great prophets of the almighty….” At the end of the correspondence, the author posed three paramount questions, namely: (1) What is the true relationship between the architect–creator, the earth and human beings? (2) Why is the earth suffering presently? and (3) How can the suffering in the world be ended? The main discussions in the work are centered on these questions.
Astronomy and biology
Chapter 1 of the book addresses the first question. In it, the author reviewed briefly some of the facts about the universe revealed by astronomy and biology. He also noted various conceptions of God, the architect-creator, by different individuals and religions.
The architect–creator is the creator and builder of the universe. Concerning our solar system, we are told that it is located in the Milky Way, a spiral galaxy with a diameter of about 100,000 light years and contains around 200 billion stars. Oyetunde highlighted some of the major features of the eight planets that make up the solar system.
But he omitted Pluto in his analysis. He discussed in details some of the features of our planet, earth, which, of all the known planets, has provided the necessary environment for the emergence of life. The architect-creator, Oyetunde argues, planned and organized a harmonious eternal system of living things on earth.
Having created the earth and the complex ecosystems in it, God entrusted to mankind the management, maintenance and perpetuation of all he had created.
In chapter 2, the author addresses the question of suffering in the world. He argues that the earth contains the necessary ingredients for the sustenance of life of various kinds. In addition, all living things are designed by the architect-creator who fashioned the earth in a harmonious way and destined it to be a paradise. Man, the being He entrusted with husbanding the earth, has failed to carry out his task properly.
One way to explain this, according to Oyetunde, “is that the planet earth (of God) is just suffering from the incompetence, incapacity, inefficacity, errance (?) and idiocy of the species that occupied (?) the highest post or rank in the ecosystem: mankind.” Mankind, he says, has become a cancer, a virus, a parasite and poison to the ecosystem and the earth. Mankind has to pass through four stages of education in order to arrive at enlightenment.
The four stages are the wandering stage (nursery school level), the error stage (primary school level), half-truth or pre-understanding era (secondary school level), and the truth or understanding stage (tertiary level). Having gone through the first two stages successfully, mankind derailed and the era of stupidity, characterized by idiocy began in earnest.
In other words, mankind has yet to complete the four stages of its self–education processes identified by Oyettunde. The Second Resurrection of Jesus Ibn Maryam contains a brief survey of the human condition during the inferior Paleolithic, the Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic periods in human evolution.
The book also discussed briefly ancient Greek and Roman religions, as well as selected religions of West African ethnic groups such as the Asante of Ghana, Dogon of Mali and the Yoruba of Nigeria.
Oyettunde claimed that the Hebrews, the Greeks and the Arabs were “…given the privilege and great honour of being first humanized (?)” (p.67).
To be continued
Religion and science will agree totally – where they state the TRUTH. Unfortunately religion has been bastardized and corrupted to the extent that the few human beings who still have control of their will power doubt the intention and genuiness of religion. It has even gone to the stage that some doubt the existence of The Almighty God !
But let me state one simple fact. All the religions were meant to guide the people of that particular time gradually attain spiritual upliftment, which should translate to peace and progess physically. Each of the great religions were designed and adapted to the particular people based on their receptivity.
That people bastardised the great teachings as soon as the founder died is unfortunate. But any human being who cares will be shown the way to spiritual upliftment. People must seek this themselves. But time is running out !!!!
The International Astronomic Union gave a lengthy but understandable definition of a planet: a planet should be massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity; should not be massive enough to cause thermonuclear fission; must have cleared its path of planetissimals; and must orbit a star or stellar remnant. Under this definition, Pluto is not considered a planet. Pluto is a \’dwarf planet\’ along with Ceres, Haumea, Makemake and Eris. This is 21st century Astronomy. Our Nigerian kids are still taught archaic science.
Back to the present. This book is another attempt by some religious zealot to toy with Science and Philosophy. There is no god: at least not in the sense of a big-brother super alien who controls men like Capablanca controlled pawns. Religion should have some wit and send forth one saviour. I\’m tired of countless gurus and saviours claiming to be the messiahs of our time.
The International Astronomic Union gave a lengthy but understandable definition of a planet: a planet should be massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity; should not be massive enough to cause thermonuclear fission; must have cleared its path of planetissimals; and must orbit a star or stellar remnant. Under this definition, Pluto is not considered a planet. Pluto is a ‘dwarf planet’ along with Ceres, Haumea, Makemake and Eris. This is 21st century Astronomy. Our Nigerian kids are still taught archaic science.
Back to the present. This book is another attempt by some religious zealot to toy with Science and Philosophy. There is no god: at least not in the sense of a big-brother super alien who controls men like Capablanca controlled pawns. Religion should have some wit and send forth one saviour. I’m tired of countless gurus and saviours claiming to be the messiahs of our time.
Pluto was dropped as the 9th planet in August 2006, when it did not meet the revised definition of a planet. It is therefore no longer a planet and might be a reason it was not part of the said analysis. Common sense continue to be mutually exclusive with religion and faith and both still stop where reasoning starts.