MORAL LESSONS AND TEACHINGS
BY
SIMON AMEGASHIE-VIGLO
HO POLYTECHNIC, HO
GHANA
SEPTEMBER 2010
Simon Amegashie-Viglo Liberal Studies Department, Faculty of Business Management Studies
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Ho Polytechnic P O Box 217, Ho, VR, Ghana E-mail: amegashieviglos@yahoo.com Phone: +233208158126 (+233240977733)
ANGER A small boy scratched his Dad's brand new Mercedes Benz car. His Dad became so angry that he hit the boy's fingers several times with a blunt cutlass. The boy fell into coma and eventually landed in hospital. The bones of his fingers were badly fractured and he lost four of his fingers. When he regained his consciousness, the first person he saw was his Dad. He asked his Dad, 'when will my fingers grow back?' His Dad was devastated by the question because he knew his son did not know he had lost his fingers forever. Overwhelmed with guilt, he ran to the car to inspect the scratch. His son had written 'I love u Dad' on it. He kicked the car several times and ran to a nearby bush and hanged himself, leaving behind the Mercedes Benz car and a son without four of his fingers. Beware of your anger. THE BENEFITS OF STRUGGLING IN LIFE Three science students were observing a caterpillar grow into a butterfly in their school laboratory. After two weeks of close observation, they saw the young butterfly struggling with great difficulty to come out of its case. The students broke the case to enable it come out easily. Their science master came round and told them that the butterfly would never be able to fly, because it was denied the benefits of a struggle which was to strengthen its wings to fly for life. Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is valuable for both the child and the caterpillar. Be careful the type of help you give others especially children, because it can destroy their determination and resolve to face the challenges of life successfully. BEWARE OF THE PRAYER YOU PRAY A carpenter went to church and prayed that more people should die so that he might get market for his coffins. The next day he had message about the death of his mother in the village. In the afternoon of the following day, he had a phone call that his only son in the university had got drowned. On his way to see his son's body, he had an accident and fractured both legs. He fell into a coma, when he regained his consciousness; the
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first person he saw was his Pastor. He said to his Pastor, this is not what I bargained for; I think your God is most unfair. Beware the prayer you pray. God might grant it. THE UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING Treasure the pleasure of preserving your body in dignity as a living sacrifice and temple unto the Living God. The pride and dignity of a lady is her virginity. Do not reduce yourself to a public urinal where everybody goes to urinate for a token in the name of enjoyment. Examine your life and repent, for the unexamined life is not worth living. THE MYSTERY OF CONCEPTION AND CHILD BIRTH There was an earthquake in the womb of time in which about one million people perished. You were the only person who survived the disaster. You took refuge in an underground cave for nine months, after which you emerged through the valley of the shadow of life, among people who you did not know. But they welcomed you as the hero they had been expecting. CONFINDENTIALITY AND DISCRETION An old wise owl once lived in a busy botanical garden, where prominent personalities went to count their treasure in leisure and pleasure. Little knowing the old wise owl had been eaves dropping. The more he saw, the less he spoke; and the less he spoke the more he heard. The world is a busy botanical garden, watch out. Why not be like the old wise owl? KNOW THY SELF Three Athenians, a wealthy businessman, a renowned intellectual and the mayor of the Acropolis, went to see the Oracle of Delphi to determine who the wisest person in Athens was. The Oracle told them 'None of you', and declared that the wisest person in Athens was Socrates, because he was the only person in Athens who knew that he did not know anything. He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, knows not indeed. How do you project yourself? Be like Socrates. HOW DO REACT TO INSULT AND PRAISES? A man took his son to a wise man for discipleship. His first assignment was to go to the cemetery and to insult all those who were ever buried there and listen very carefully for their reaction. His second assignment was to go back to the same cemetery and praise the dead and again listen for their reaction. The young man came back and reported that there was total silence to his insults and to his praises from the dead. The wise man told him, 'Be like the dead. Do not let insults or praises from people corrupt your conscience and judgement.
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TOMORROW NEVER COMES Today is the tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday. It never expires. It simply gets longer and longer until it becomes tomorrow. Do well therefore, to live today well and to the best of your conscience, for tomorrow does not yet exist. Tomorrow never comes, because today never expires. RIDDLE OF THE UNISEX CATTLE A king wanted to know which of his three sons was the most intelligent, so that he might nominate him as the heir to his throne. Assuming you are one of them, what would you have done if the king gave you enough money to buy cattle that was neither a male nor a female? Collect the money from your Dad, the King and go out of town for a day or two. Come back to the King and tell him that you have bought the cattle which is neither male nor female, but the shepherd says such cattle are escorted only by people who are neither male nor female. Ask the king to get you somebody who is neither male nor female to escort the cattle to the palace for him. He will not get such a person to accompany to the shepherd. BEING AN INSPIRATION TO OTHERS When people look up to you, you have a great opportunity to help them unlock their potential. But u cannot do that by calling the shots. Being right or being successful does not need to come at the expense of others. Take a load off every one by laying down your ego; for great leaders bear pain on behalf of those they lead rather than inflict pain on them. INACTION, INDEFERRENCE AND SILENCE Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who should have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, and the silence of the voice of justice when it matters most that have allowed evil to triumph in organised society. ATTITUDE TOWARDS SUCCESS Success starts in the mind. If you want to succeed in any endeavour, train your mind to look beyond apparent obstacles, set-backs, disappointments and failures. A successful life starts with a successful attitude, no matter how humble your beginning might be.
THE SECRET OF SUCCESS
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The secret to success in life is learning to stay in touch and in tune with God; and the way to do that is by talking with and listening to Him on a daily basis. GREED CAN KILL YOU An antelope was running away from a hunter and accidentally stepped into goat meat soup that a monkey was preparing. The monkey left the whole soup behind and chased the antelope and insisted on licking the soup on the antelope's foot. In the process of licking, the antelope kicked very hard into the monkey's mouth dashing it brains in the process and it died of bleeding. Beware of greed, because it can kill you. PUBLIC CRITICISM In criticising others publicly, people think they are proving their level-headedness, wisdom and even love. To love others is to understand their difficulties and act sensitively to alleviate their plight. Public criticism only serves to aggravate their situation. If you love somebody, be the last to publicly criticize him. NOTHING GOOD COMES WITHOUT AN EFFORT If you are always expecting somebody to come and rescue you from suffering, illness, unhappiness or poverty without making an effort on your own, do not expect that someone would come and help you. It might never happen. Cultivate the habit of making some effort on your in line with your personal vision in life, and God would do it through somebody from whom you might not be expecting anything. BEWARE THE TRAPS YOU SET A Pastor realised that students were stealing his pineapples. He therefore decided to poison a ripen one before traveling. His son came back from school, picked the poisoned pineapple and shared it with his mother. By evening, the boy and his mother had died from eating the poisoned pineapple. The Pastor returned only to fine his son and wife at the mortuary. Beware the traps you set, they might catch game you least expect. ACCEPT DEATH AS A REALITY OF LIFE The people of a small town of about 5,000 had cultivated the habit of cursing God and mourning continuously for several days anytime somebody from the town died. They would go to the cemetery, walk round the graves amid crying, wailing, gnashing of teeth and continuously curse God. They would thereafter gather at their community centre and mourn several days without doing any work, at great cost to the bereaved family and other relatives.
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One day in the process of such mourning and cursing, a little boy in white dress appeared among them. He asked them why there were in the habit of mourning excessively any time somebody died. The people replied that, they did not want anybody in the town to die any longer. The little boy asked them whether they would like all those who ever died to come back to live. They said yes. Thereupon, the little boy started blowing a little whistle in his hand. All of a sudden, there was a resurrection of the dead from that town. There was joy initially as they welcomed the resurrected relatives. By evening the whole town was crowded with resurrected people, some of whom were too old to walk on their own. Water, food, accommodation and places of convenience were now in short supply. Hunger and sanitation problems became very serious. Quarrel and confusion arose over who should occupy which rooms in various houses in the town and the rationing of water and food among the resurrected. Within three days, the people became so sad that they called the little boy and pleaded with him to allow the resurrected to depart because they were too many to be fed and accommodated, and that they have understood the essence of death among the living. The little boy blew his whistle and the dead disappeared from the town. He told them he was an angel sent by God to teach them a lesson on the essence of death. THE WISE ANTELOPE AND THE LION An antelope took refuge in a very dark cave during a rain storm. Whilst hiding in a corner, a lion also entered the cave to take refuge from the rain storm. The antelope was frightened and immediately confronted with how to escape death at the hands of the lion after the rain storm. Just as the rain was ending, the antelope exclaimed, ‘Where will I get an elephant to swallow as an appetizer, before getting something special for dinner?’ When the lion heard this exclamation, it quickly dashed out of the cave in fear, thinking that a whale was in the cave. The antelope laughed and said to itself, ‘It is good to be strong, but it is better to be wise’. TWO SMART VILLAGERS IN A CITY Two villagers from different villages once met in a city. One of them was admiringly watching the pictures on an electronic bill board, when the other villager approached him and accused him of having watched the President TV without payment. He demanded the payment 30 dollars for the 30 minutes that he was alleged to have watched the TV. In self-defence, the first villager stated that he had watched the TV for only 10 minutes and not 30 and paid 10 dollars to the second villager. The first villager said to himself, ‘He thinks I am a villager, I have watched it for 30 minutes, but I paid only 10 dollars. The second villager said to himself, you villager, who told you we pay to watch the President’s TV in the city?
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ANANSE AND THE ROYAL PYTHON A royal African python had tormented the people of a village for several years killing their livestock and children at random. Nobody could kill the python to free the villagers from its harassment. One day Ananse got a long stick went to the riverside where the python was residing and told the python that there was an argument in the village about whether he was longer than the stick he was holding or not. Ananse said he told the villagers that he python was longer than the stick but they would not believe him. Ananse therefore appealed to the python to come out for a verification and measurement. In the verification process, Ananse tied the python to the stick and told the python that it was indeed, longer than the stick. When the python pleaded to the untied, Ananse said the villagers must see it in order to be convinced. Ananse therefore carried the python to the village. When the villagers saw Ananse carrying the python, they were confused about how he managed to capture the great snake alone. Ananse then took a cutlass and beheaded the python as punishment for several years of harassing and tormenting the villagers and he was declared a hero in the village. THE FISHMONGER'S PERFUME It has been over a month now, since Dzatugbui lost the case against Agbui in Keta. She hated being called Dzatugbui. She preferred being called by her Christian name Margaret, Maggie for short. Despite this attitude of hers, her own parents still called her Dzatugbui and she responded. Dzatugbui, like most youth people of her age, was facing an acute identity crisis. She was fighting an emotional or psychological war against herself, her family, her country and her colour. She is a victim of a very powerful selfimposed emotional conflict. She hated the fact that she was a Gold Coaster. She found it difficult to accept her background. The Gold Coasters were poor, primitive, afflicted with diseases, ignorance and superstition. She had resorted to the bleaching of her skin to enable her come closer to her own definition of a recognised and acceptable human being. She had often wondered why God did not create her a white lady. If she had been born in London, New York, Paris or Berlin, it would have been much better and the story of her existence would have been entirely different. She was extremely uncomfortable with being born at Denu, in fact at Adafienu. She told people she was a Brazilian staying in Lome, where she owned a big house built for her by a Brazilian businessman. The relationship ended when she quarreled with his Lebanese wife, who referred to Dzatugbui as a morally bankrupt bitch, roaming about beaches, corrupting other people’s husbands with her EMBA (Extra Marital Business Association). Dzatugbui had been a sales girl to Nazario Roberto De-Souza in Lome for about five years. In the fifth year of her stay in Lome, something very traumatising happened to her on the day she was supposed to get wedded to one Afro-American. Unknown to Dzatugbui the man was married with two children in Accra. The wedding was scheduled 8
for Lome to prevent the double marriage from being detected. Unfortunately, the man’s wife had wind of the idea and decided to challenge the marriage. She was in Lome the day before and managed to get to the chapel without being noticed by her husband. When the Pastor asked that anyone with a reason for which the marriage should not take place should come out and state it, the woman walk forward with her two children to the surprise of the members of the congregation. “Five years ago, I got married to this man under the ordinance law, which makes it criminal for him to marry as long as both of us are alive. Here are pictures of our wedding, our marriage certificate and our two children.” The woman reported with much disapproval. The allegations were investigated and found to be true. The wedding was discontinued, much to the embarrassment of the couple, invited guests and the congregation. This singular incident so much traumatised Dzatugbui that she decided not to trust any man and had vowed to take revenge on all men. Dzatugbui’s attitude of self-rejection created a vacuum in her, which she struggled to fill with material things, association with the rich and powerful, shunning the company of the poor and seeking after treasure, leisure and pleasure. She was an influential businesswoman who took advantage of her beauty to make money. At thirtyfive years of age she was already famous for her wealth, but she was without a child or a husband. She was nevertheless respected for her wealth and admired by some people for her independence of thought and action. The story is still told in Agbovega of what happened between Dzatugbui and a fishmonger from Denu. Dzatugbui once came home to Adafienu for a funeral in a porch car from Lome. The fishmonger who had five children, was unlucky to have had one of her children using charcoal to write 1 2 3… on the bonnet of Dzatugbui’s Lincoln Continental car. This angered Dzatugbui beyond what her countenance could accommodate. She considered the conduct of the child as an act of an unpardonable provocation and thought there was a compelling reason to put the untutored child and her unlettered parents where they belonged on the ladder of social stratification. Dzatugbui referred to the little girl and her parents us dirty, good for nothing and primitive Homo sapiens. The fishmonger, who knew Dzatugbui from infancy, to told her that with all her wealth, she could not purchase the perfume that she used. The fishmonger warned her to learn to respect women of integrity who did not thrive on the bread of idleness. The bluff of the fishmonger infuriated Dzatugbui who summoned her at the chief’s palace to produce the type of perfume which she could not purchase. The woman appeared in court that day with her last born. When the matter was put to her, she simply restated her claim that with all her wealth, Dzatugbui could not buy the perfume that she used. There-upon she was asked to produce the perfume she used. She brought her child forward; gently squeezed her nose and phlegm came out of the nose and she showed it the gathering as the perfume that she used. She then smeared it all over her body. 9
Dzatugbui broke down in tears and went home without any further claims. It was clear to everybody that with all her wealth she could not buy a child, let alone benefit from the use of the phlegm from a child’s nose. Her ego was completely deflated by the fishmonger. She could not bear the humiliation and broke down in tears. Her mind went back to the three abortions she has had and the warning the doctor gave her against the third one. She refused to heed the doctor’s advice and went ahead to have her third consecutive abortion in two years. This was because she could not afford to have a child without a wedding. Now here was a traditionally married but unwedded fishmonger, belonging to the category of people she despised most, publicly ridiculing her for barrenness. Dzatugbui could not bear it. And she wept.
THE VERDICT OF THE ORACLE Agbui Fomeaka was prevented from walking around the Danish built Fort Prinzenstein in Keta without removing his hat and without a pass. He thought it was an act of provocation to be prevented from passing there. This gave him a compelling reason to say, "The Whites in Keta think that it was a mistake on the part of God to make the people of the Lower Volta. Their Policies are efforts to correct this divine error". One of the guards over heard him and reported him to the British supervisor and the Public Relations officer of the colonial administration at the Fort, Mr. Paul Greenwood. Mr. Paul Greenwood went mad with anger and instructed that Agbui should be given 24 lashes for gross disrespect. He was overpowered and stretched on a table like a common criminal, by six guards comprising Zida Katakrigoni, Gbedzeha Alagbo, Avudzivi Kpakpagloe, Gbologa Nyatefe, Agbavor Kokovena and Agblexorvuvu Aheto and given 24 lashes during which he passed urine and farted a couple of times. Thereafter, Mr. Paul Greenwood asked him to go home and sin no more. Agbui did not know that it was a sin to challenge the White man openly. Nor did he know that he had to remove his hat before greeting the White man or needed a pass to walk behind a Forte built on his grandfather’s land. Agbui was traditionally not expected to remove his hat before greeting any body because he was the heir apparent to the Awadada Stool of the 37 villages. Mr. Paul Greenwood did not know this and the sycophantic guards did not tell him since he prided himself with knowing everything about Africa, particularly what he called ‘The primitive people of the Lower Volta.’ Mr. Paul Greenwood asked the guards what the hell his long name meant. The guards told him that the full name was ‘Agbui Fusese Benayetsia Avufeglamedorna’ and it meant, ‘Agbui the hard bone says he stays over night in a dog’s mouth.’ Mr. Paul Greenwood laughed hilariously at the meaning and said, ‘Primitive people carrying full sentences in the name of a name. Unbelievable! He thinks that being a hard bone is a good enough reason for wanting to pass through a restricted security zone without
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clearing himself? I have diluted what makes him a hard bone. He will have a great story to tell when gets home.’ Agbui got home and narrated the story of his humiliation at the hands of the White supervisor at Keta. The whole town was thrown into a state of anguish and agitation. War drums were beaten for the whole town to assemble under the big neem tree in front of the Awadada’s (warlord) palace. Most people worn red banners and some were in red attires. The White man has humiliated the whole traditional area by publicly flogging Agbui, the heir apparent to the Awadada Stool of the 37 villages. The matter was carefully considered, but there was initially no consensus on what was to be done. Opinion was divided among them. There were two schools of thought. One was that they should declare war on the colonial administration in Keta. But somebody solicitously pointed out that it was not prudent to declare war on the dreaded colonial administration without the involvement of all the 37 villages. The same person noted that it was not clear whether the DC knew of treatment given to Agbui. If the 37 villages should go to war, then the decision to declare it must be a collective responsibility of the 37 villages. The second school of thought proposed that the matter should taken to the god of Thunder at Nogokpo for arbitration, whereby Agbui could claim damages for his humiliation and the Awadada Stool pacified in atonement for the sacrilege committed against the people. Agbui was the heir apparent to the Awadada Stool; if Mr. Paul Greenwood did not know they should just allow the god of thunder to educate him on the matter. Eventually, the second school of thought carried the day and a five-member delegation, including Agbui himself, was dispatched to Nogokpo to deal with the case. When they got to Nogokpo the delegates held the necessary consultations with the priest of the god of Thunder, Torgbui Agbavor Beyedzeta Aviedi Amekuleafe Wotsoyi Agblevadi (The evil luggage commenced its journey and there was wailing, a person died at home but was taken to the farm for burial). The required items and cost were provided and a high level emissary from the god of thunder was sent to the colonial administration to produce Mr. Paul Greenwood and the six guards that assisted him in administering the 24 lashes on Agbui in Keta. The delegation got to Keta on Friday December 3, 1955, at 3.30 pm. The guards saw the emissary with the staff of the god of thunder and reported to Mr. Paul Greenwood who was also the Public Relations Officer at the colonial office at Keta. The guards told him of the mission of the emissary. Mr. Paul Greenwood once again became furious and ordered the guards to burn the staff of the god of thunder with petrol and give the emissary 24 lashes for insolence to a public officer in the colonial service of Her Majesty the Queen. For fear of losing their jobs the six guards comprising, Zida Katakrigoni, Gbedzeha Alagbo, Avudzivi Kpakpagloe, Gbologa Nyatefe, Agbavor Kokovena and Agblexorvuvu Aheto, reluctantly stretched the poor emissary of the god of thunder on a 11
table like a common criminal and administered 24 lashes on his buttocks. Mr. Paul Greenwood told the emissary of the god of thunder, to go home and sin no more. The six guards had a premonition that all was not going to be well with them. The emissary of the god of thunder did not say anything. He did not curse. He simply walked away without looking back and with the others departed to Nogokpo. Nobody as far as their memories could allow ever treated the envoy of the god of thunder like the way they were treated in Keta and lived beyond seven days to tell the story. The DC’s organised an annual get-together for staff of the Colonial Administration on Friday December 10, 1955 at 2.30 pm. There were about 71 workers all neatly dressed in their best attires for the occasion. There was brass band music, much food and drinks. Everybody was very happy. The DC was getting ready to give his speech when some one observed that the clouds were gathering and that it might rain. It was unusual for it to rain around this time of the year. In about 15 minutes the clouds had become heavy and a strong wind began to blow amid thunder and lightning. All of a sudden, there was a terrific explosion of thunder and lightning that caused a very thick cloud of smoke to cover the whole place. The generator got blown out and the lights went off. There was a scramble for survival and stampeding to safety. The watchman and the gate man brought their flashlights. When the smoke cleared it was discovered that the thunder had killed seven people: the six guards comprising, Zida Katakrigoni, Gbedzeha Alagbo, Avudzivi Kpakpagloe, Gbologa Nyatefe, Agbavor Kokovena and Agblexorvuvu Aheto as well as Mr. Paul Greenwood, the Public Relations Officer of the Colonial Administration. The poor victims of the blast lay miserably on the ground with blood oozing out of their noses. It was a terrible and a horrible spectacle to behold, as they lay lifeless in pools of blood. Seven thunderbolts were found, one beside each victim. The staff members of the Colonial Administration began to speculate on why only the six guards who lashed the envoy of the god of thunder and their zealous instructor should be the only people to die. What was even more baffling was the fact that they sat at different places during the party. It was at this point that the DC heard of what happened to Agbui and the emissary of the god of thunder. An elderly man advised the DC to send for the priest of the god of thunder before anybody could touch any of the dead bodies. Some one suggested that Rev. Abraham Johnson Amegah should be brought to handle the matter the Christian way. But when the man was consulted he declined the invitation saying that, what belonged to Caesar should be given to Caesar. The only option was the priest of the god of thunder, Torgbui Agbavor Beyedzeta Aviedi Amekuleafe Wotsoyi Agblevadi (The evil luggage commenced its journey and there was wailing, a person died at home but was taken to the farm for burial), who came at around 12 o’ clock midnight to perform the necessary purification rites in atonement of the god of Thunder. The seven victims would not be buried at a cemetery in Keta or any other cemetery. It was against the god of thunder for its victim to be buried at a cemetery. Such victims were always buried in the evil forest dedicated to evildoers that have been punished by the god of Thunder. This explains the name of the priest of the god of Thunder: ‘The evil luggage commenced its journey and there was wailing; a 12
person died at home but was taken to the farm for burial’. The evil forest was the farm and cemetery for burying evildoers who were killed by the god of thunder. The DC was confused. He could not understand how people who were alleged and believed to have offended a god could be electrocuted through thunder and lightning targeted at only the culprits. Whether it was scientific, telepathic and supernatural or just a sheer coincidence he could not tell. One thing was however clear, the thunder killed only those who were known to have participated in committing the sacrilege. How could this be attributed to sheer coincidence? It would be an unimaginable degree naivety and hypocrisy to say that the killing of seven individuals guilty of sacrilege from among a group of 71 people was a mere coincidence. Mosquitoes and the nationalists have stood in the way of efforts to bring civilisation to this part of the world. Now it has become clear that there was a more deadly type of resistance to the pacification of the primitive tribes of the Lower Volta, in the name of a god of thunder, which could be deployed to cause havoc if the needed caution was not exercised. The balance of power was now getting to equilibrium. The natives must not be encouraged to used supernatural powers. It is morally incorrect and unacceptable to do so. The missionaries must be supported and encouraged to reach out to the hinterland and win the primitive people of the Lower Volta for Christ, the DC soliloquized. He was going to write a book on the god of thunder, known among these primitive people as Torgbui Nyigbla and its ability and capacity to tele-guide electro-ballisticmissiles at culprits. The title of the book will be: ‘Electro-Ballistic-Missiles of the Primitive People of the Lower Volta’. He wondered how primitive people could deploy electro-ballistic-missiles unguided by satellite and yet hit its targets with such amazing precision. This level of accuracy is precisely what the Americans and the Russians have been grappling with for ages without the kind of results this god of thunder has demonstrated it is capable of achieving. Perhaps the Americans and the Russians should simply move to Nogokpo, in the Gold Coast, for new lessons in the development and deployment of electro-ballistic-missiles. What the Americans and the Russians have spent trillions of dollars of resources trying to achieve, these unlettered natives could do with a few herbs and incantations. Incredible! The DC accepted responsibility for performing the appeasement rites at Nogokpo and the payment of compensation to Dumega Agbui, Awadada of the 37 villages, for the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of the late Paul Greenwood. The DC delegated some native members of staff in his administration to perform the rites on behalf of the Colonial Administration. The rule of law permits delegation of authority, especially on occasions like this. That explains why the rule of law must be protected and defended at all times and at all cost even among primitive tribes. It was not prudent for him to make a personal appearance at the shrine of the god of thunder, because it would be a bad example and a moral defeat to the pacification mission of the primitive tribes of the Lower Volta.
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THE TRIAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Rev. Abraham Johnson Amegah remembered a story Dr. De-Graft Cassava Tamekloe told him about a mock trial that was staged by Legon Hall Law students of the University College of the Gold Coast to mark their 5th Hall Week Celebration. He was invited to deliver a speech on the topic, ‘Leadership Responsibility and Constitutional Student Administration’ on Saturday, May 1956, as a prelude to their JCR Elections. The mock trial was titled ‘The Trial of the Spirit Holy’. In this trial a suit was filed against the Holy Spirit by the Synagogue of Satan at the Court of Pontius Pilate, charged with seducing and impregnating the Virgin Mary, who was legitimately betrothed to Joseph the carpenter of Nazareth. The whole story of the mock trial was so intriguing and creative that he was full of admiration for the imagination of the Law students of the University College of the Gold Coast. He decided that he would share the story with his congregation at the earliest opportunity. In the mock trial the prosecution, which was led by Professor (Emeritus) Judas Iscariot; and included Lord Lucifer and Professor Bezeelbus, contended that contrary to Mosaic Law, which stated that: ‘Thou shall not commit adultery…. Thou shall not covert thy neighbour’s wife’, (Exodus 20: 14-& 17) the Holy Spirit went behind the back of Joseph the carpenter of Nazareth, the legitimate husband of the Virgin Mary, to seduce and impregnate the Holy Lady. Angel Gabriel was also in the dock charged with complicity and the case. Angel Gabriel, the prosecution argued, exercised undue influence on the Virgin Mary when he proclaimed: ‘Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. Do not be afraid; for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of his father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end’ Luke 1: 28-33. This hilarious salutation, like the salutation of the three witches to Macbeth that he would be king of Denmark, generated and doubly redoubled the Virgin Mary’s ambition to be become the mother of God. It also weakened her resolve to plead and insist that she was betrothed to Joseph the carpenter of Nazareth. The Virgin Mary replied: ‘How can this be since I do not know a man.’ The Angel Gabriel, capitalising on the Virgin’s lack of knowledge or non-commitment to the Mosaic Law, quickly proceeded to state: ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the highest will over shadow you.’
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The Synagogue of Satan argued that the idea of the Holy Spirit coming upon her and over powering her constituted a violation of the Virgin’s freedom of association and human rights. This is because she was over powered without her consent. Even if she was deemed to have consented, the consent should be declared null and void because she was legitimately betrothed under the Law of Moses, which was in force at the time of the act. The prosecution further contented that there were several holy virgins in the line David in Nazareth at the time, who the Holy Spirit could have approached without breaking the Mosaic Law. The seduction and conception of the Virgin Mary, another man’s wife, was therefore a pre-meditated act willfully contrived to break the Mosaic Law. The Synagogue of Satan therefore pleaded with the Court to award damages to Joseph. The Synagogue of Satan also pleaded with Pontius Pilate for an amendment of the Trinity to a Quadruplinity so that it would now read: ‘In the name of the Father, the Son, Joseph the Carpenter of Nazareth and the Holy Spirit’; to right the wrong against the meek Joseph. The Synagogue of Satan further pleaded that Angel Gabriel should be bonded to be of good behaviour, stopped from corrupting innocent virgins and prevented from interfering in the affairs of those betrothed in marriage to humans. The Synagogue of Satan stated that even though the Angel Gabriel knew his mission was an out right violation of the Mosaic Law, he agreed to embark upon it, without reminding God about the legal implication of the action. They pointed out that because impending cabinet reshuffle in Heaven then; Angel Gabriel wanted to be in the good books of God so that he might get the coveted position of the Deputy God, which, Satan occupied before his expulsion from Heaven. The defence counsel comprised a three-member legal team led by Angel Michael. The other members were Moses, the man who led the Israelites from Egypt to the outskirts of the Promised Land and John the Baptist. Moses was the first person to speak. He stated that he was the first person to have broken all the Mosaic Laws under provocation from the Israelites in the wilderness. He remained the Court that even though he was the person through whom the Mosaic Laws were given, he suffered death before he could get to the Promised Land because he broke all the Laws. The Mosaic Laws had ever since remained broken. It was therefore contrary to available records to say someone else had broken them. He said responsibility and punishment for breaking the Mosaic Laws had always been attributed to him Moses. He therefore pleaded with the Court to allow what belonged to Moses to be given to Moses. He contended that if Moses broke the Mosaic Laws, for which God punish him, no other person should be punished for them because they had always remained broken. John the Baptist was the second defence counsel to speak. He stated that Jesus was his cousin when they incarnated here on earth. John the Baptist recalled that when the angel Gabriel departed from the Virgin Mary, she arose and went with haste to the hill country of Judah into the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth who was her 15
relative. John the Baptist stated that he was only six months old in her mother’s womb but leapt with great joy because he was to be the forerunner to Jesus. He reminded the jury and indeed the Synagogue of Satan that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one and the same and can therefore not be separately sued because they are indivisible. John the Baptist contended that the suit in its present form was a suit against God since the Holy Spirit was only acting for and on behalf of the Trinity. He pointed out that no human court, however well constituted, might try God. He therefore pleaded with the Court to dismiss the case of seduction and adultery against the Holy Spirit and the plea for an amendment to the Trinity as mischievous and blasphemous; and cost awarded against the Synagogue of Satan.
Angel Michael was the last defence counsel to speak in the trial. He stated that it is truth that the Holy Spirit impregnated the Virgin Mary. It is also true that the Angel Gabriel played a role in this divine drama as a messenger of God to bring the Good News. But the Angel Michael pointed out that the Court as constituted under Pontius Pilate had no jurisdiction to amend the Trinity to a Quadruplinity. The Angel Michael pointed out that since the case involved heavenly beings, it could not be tried under the Mosaic Law, which was meant for mortals on earth. He said he flew from Heaven to point out this fact to the Court. He reminded the jury that it was because of such conspiratorial manoeuvres that Satan and his followers were expelled from Heaven. He pleaded with the Court to acknowledge its own incompetence and lack of jurisdiction to hear the case. There was cross-examination of the defence and prosecution witnesses. Mary was not in Court neither was her husband Joseph, the illustrious and celebrated carpenter of Nazareth. In its ruling the Court stated that since God is an impartial God He is not likely to have one law for those in Heaven and another set for those on earth. Secondly since the actions of the heavenly beings directly impacted on human beings it was preposterous to say perpetrators should not be held reliable for their actions on earth. The Court stated that what was ordained on earth remained ordained in Heaven as well. The Court was there of the opinion that it was not God that was being tried but someone claiming to be acting for and on behalf of God, without reasonable proof, doing something that was contrary to the Mosaic Law, which was given by God himself. The Court held that the Synagogue of Satan was unable to prove that the suit was filed with the consent of Joseph the carpenter, the legitimate husband of the Virgin Mary. And since Joseph was not a minor no such action could be filed without his expressed consent. The Court ruled that it was only Joseph the carpenter of Nazareth, the husband
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of Mary that can bring such an action against the Holy Spirit. The case was therefore dismissed as mischievous and without merit and a cost of 5,000 Denarius awarded against the Synagogue of Satan. The audience hailed the mock trial as a brilliant exhibition of raw talents by the Law students, in readiness for the challenge of taking up leadership positions in legal issues of their country on the eve of its independence.
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