Four More Years

Four More Years is not too much to ask!

Fondly Remembered and Missed:

Throughout this week, dear mother, I have reflected on our life together. I am now a grown man raising a family. Yet the very thought of you makes me feel like a child again. I must also confess that trying to number the years that you have been gone leaves me numb. The years are many! It is only by faith, and faith alone that I believe what I cannot prove – that you are in a better place. How are you doing, dear mother, in that land yonder? Do you ever miss us, your children?

There are days I imagine you seated in the council of the departed members of our family discussing each of us. Do you think of us? What sort of things do you say about your children? We are all grown now and each has gone his/her way. We do occasionally come together to reminiscent.

Dear mother, I wish you happiness as you live your life in the world known only by the dead. Know that you are loved and missed. I personally remain forever grateful to you. I continue to believe that your presence is always with us. Yes, by faith, and faith alone I believe what I cannot prove – your ever-present embrace and love. Yet, as I watch my children grow, I wish you were here to cuddle them, to give advice and to offer wise counsel.

The day the ship came to carry you home was a sad day. As the wild gull called we mourned your departure. But today, 27^th July 2012, I shed tears of joy - joy of having known you. As I stand at the grave site, I miss your smiling face. I will cry but I will not be sad. I have hope of seeing you again. You believed in Jesus Christ and eternal hope in Him. I too believe! I will see you again mother. It is well with my soul. So long …

Your son,

John.

On Bright Morning April 16, 2012

http://www.flickr.com/photos/archivesnews/7093263213/

Friends,

It has taken me awhile before updating you on my status. It is now exactly two months since I returned to the motherland. I am quite excited with my new assignment here at Loresho. Loresho is an awesome community and I look forward to a great ministry together.  The complexity of ministry in the new Kenya is quite obvious. However, I am a BELIEVER. I can do all things in Christ Jesus who strengthens me.

The speed in which Kenya is changing is breath-taking. I am yet to comprehend the strides made in the last twelve years that I have been away. Of course, poor planning and political ineptitude cast a dark shadow on the progress made but Kenyans are proving to be a determined lot. One of the most annoying things is traffic jam and the Matatu menace. On a brighter side, I am truly enjoying Kenyan hospitality! Waking up for a cup of hot Kenyan tea is quite refreshing. My aesthetic side is taking in, every day, the natural beauty of this great nation. A glimpse of the majestic Mount Kenya reveals the wondrous work of our Maker. I thank God for Kenya.

In Loving Memory - Maitũ Eunice Wangechi Gathitũ

The Great One:
The wind blew,
From the northern carrying with it deathly spell,
Howling and wailing as the gust passed,
Taking with it roof tops and leaving the sheep
Naked, uncovered and shaky;

The chimney was gone taken into the heavenly
Like Elijah, clouds of darkness swallowed it.
Gushing rain and wind dampened the hearse;
All silence, deathly silence
In a distant, a dog howled
An owl hooted the great one had fallen.

The hearth reassembled,
Fire of eternity burnt
Bringing with it warmth untold.
The joy of knowing her rekindled
Beauty, laughter, tears filled the room
No longer to depart
Forever yours
She muttered…
- Kĩriakũ Kĩnyua.

The Narration of Egyptian Mythology: Max Müller through a Postcolonial Lens

I just finished presenting a paper titled The Narration of Egyptian Mythology: Wilhelm Max Müller through a Postcolonial Lens at the 21st Annual British Commonwealth & Postcolonial Studies Conference (February 17 - 18, 2012 at Hilton Savannah Desoto Hotel in Savannah, Georgia USA.

The Abstract:

The Narration of Egyptian Mythology: Max Müller through a Postcolonial Lens

Friedrich Max Müller in his Introduction to the Science of Religion proposed what he referred to as “the science of religion.” Like his father, Wilhelm Max Müller supported a less partisan approach to religion in which scholars would seek those elements, patterns, and principles that could be found uniformly in the religions of all times and places. The proposal came at a time when many in Europe held that Christian faith could never mix with a program of study devoted to experiment, revision and change. Müller’s proposal was groundbreaking. However, when scrutinized under a postcolonial lens, the work reveals that both senior and junior Müller never moved away from the generally held principle that insisted that Christian ideals and values expressed the highest in human moral and cultural achievement. Both Friedrich and Wilhelm Max Müller likewise remained squarely in the European triumphant intellectualism.

When one considers W. Max Müller’s work on Egyptian mythology in The Mythology of All Races: Egypt, it becomes apparent that the seemingly innocent and objective use of science in the representation of the “Other” is not as transparent as it appears. As one studies Müller’s Mythology, several questions come to mind. Why was Müller quick to remind that even though Egyptian civilization is beyond question, its religious life remained rudimentary without acquiring the sophistication of other “pagan” religions? Why was he quick to trace animism as the principle force from which Egypt mythology evolved? What role did racism and continental chauvinism pointed out by Martin Bernal play in shaping the study of Egyptian mythology and religion? Does Müller’s study of Egyptian mythology masks a connection between European Romanticism and the tensions between Egyptian religion and Christianity that requires unraveling?

In this paper I propose to show first that W. Max Müller’s study masks a construction of ancient Egyptians in which he takes upon himself the power to describe, name, define, and represent the “Other”. Müller’s oversimplification of Egypt mythology denies its complexity. Secondly, the use of animism as a theoretical tool to analyze Egyptian religious experiences forms the basis for Müller’s Orientalism and his idea of henotheism. Thirdly, Müller’s classification of ancient Egyptians as animists follows Hegelian view of Africa as representing the world of “Nature” in its raw state, as opposed to that of Culture or “Spirit”. Animism helps reinforce the stereotypical reading of Egyptian religion and mythology. Fourthly, use of animism reveals a certain level of anxiety that threatens to destabilize the very claim to objectivity as well as any claim to unified notion of history.

Book Review

Dear reader,
I would like to lead your attention to the review of my recently published book published today at: http://www.mhs.no/aotp?118. The review will also be published in BookNotes for Africa. The reviewer, Dr Knut Holter, is the Prorector for Research & Professor of Old Testament Studies at MHS School of Mission and Theology in Norway.