Imitating Jesus the Philosopher

By -
Jesus was a philosopher of his time and as philosophy students, we ought to imitate him. Looking into the life of Jesus, we learn that he made contemplation the centre of his life and that is why before his mission, he had a time of contemplation in the desert. Imitating him we need to enter into deep contemplation. Aristotle put it well in saying that true contemplation is the source of happiness, which is the ultimate desire of every human being. Jesus shared the fruits of contemplation with his followers and the people he met.

Many students understand philosophy as argument and they fail to enter into contemplation. Being philosophy students, how do we apply our philosophy? Does it lead us to contemplation? I imagine a philosophy student visiting Makenke slum where people are sick, hungry, homeless and poor. This student applies his philosophy, by sharing the philosophy of Kant with the sick, Plato’s allegory of the cave with the homeless, and the period of enlightenment with the poor.

I think philosophy is made to help us think well, become more human, and analyze issues critically. Consider a philosophy student who applies Levinas’ philosophy of “the encounter”. Every encounter calls us to love and see the face of the other (God).  I would call such a student wise since he would meaningfully take the responsibility of bring hope and light in the lives of those he or she encounters. In this way he will be imitating Christ who encountered the hungry and fed them, Christ who encountered the sick and healed them. Likewise we can heal others by our words. We imitate Christ who met the poor and enriched them. The question still remains, “how do we use the philosophy we acquire?” Is the aim to show others that we have learnt about philosophers by quoting them when in an argument? A philosophy student should contextualize his or her philosophy in order to enrich others.

The greatest man in history: Jesus
Yes, Jesus!
The Jesus who had no servants yet they called him MASTER!
Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher!
Had no medicines, yet they called him HEALER!
He had won no military battles, yet he conquered the WORLD!
He committed no crime, yet they CRUCIFIED HIM!
He was buried in a tomb, yet he LIVES TODAY!
It is so wonderful to serve a leader who LOVES US


Mutuku Henry Mutune 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE ONE AND THE ONLY POGORO CULTURE

By -
Image
It was an honour to the Tanzanians having the privilege to present and share more concerning one of the cultures in the motherland, Tanzania in the cultural evening. Happiness and joy was vivid on every members’ face in the community, some hours before the event commenced. We all enjoyed listening to our two brothers, Evodius Lihiru and Aloyce Libongi , who shared about the Pogoro Culture. Historical background and culture teachings about Pogoro People were well narrated and I can bear witness, it was fabulous . Here is a short history about the Tanzania, the country and the Pogoro culture. Tanzania is a rich country which has many natural resources like Gold, Tanzanite, Diamond, Iron Ore, and other minerals. It has also got tourist attractions such as the Norongoro Crater, Mount Kilimanjaro, Serengeti and Mikumi National Park, as well as Zanzibar Island. The natural resources enable the country to earn a lot of money to run the government programs. Tanza
Read more

THE ITESO PEOPLE

By -
Image
Iteso is the name of the people speaking Ateso language. The man originating from the Teso land is known as ‘Etesot’ and a woman on the other hand she is known as ‘Atesot’. Background They are believed to have come from Alexandra in Egypt. They are the descendants of the Biblical Joseph, a Hebrew, who is said to have married a black Egyptian woman. She gave birth to Ateker speaking people who include: Jie, Turkana, Maasai, Karimojong and Iteso. When the Israelites left for the promised land, the black Egyptian woman left with her children towards South West where they claim to have had their promised land as promised by Abraham to Jacob his grandson; the land surrounded by the rivers. When this group reached Ethiopian highlands, they claimed it and looked at the South West, where they saw their promised land and they said ‘Ite so’ meaning, ‘we have seen’ which gave rise to the name ‘Iteso’. Areas Occupied Basing on the 1980 statistics, the tribe is the second largest i
Read more

Brother Tobie Kizza

By -
Image
Evaristo, Collins and Yago at Tobie Kizza burial's site (Ibanda Parish)                              As a saying goes that ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ, it indeed spoke to me. It was after I had taken a step to read about Bro. Tobie Kizza, who also happened to be the first Muganda brother of the society of the Missionaries of Africa not only that but also the Patron of Tobie Kizza Team here in our community Lavigerie. Being born from the pagan background in 1872 in Burigi, this did not hinder him from achieving and discerning his call to discipleship. The man, who ate, worked, loved and lived with the famous martyrs (our fathers in faith) in the year 1886. Inspired by their lives, and their willingness to die for Christ, this gave Tobie more zeal and increased his commitment to Christ (rooted in Christ, we venture with hope). Despite the hard ships under the rule of the king, Tobie did not give up a thing the proved his high spirit of perseverance which
Read more

The Karimojong, their Beliefs and The Supreme (Spirits and God)

By -
Introduction I will base the discussion of this essay on some of the basic aspects or features pertaining to the Karimojong tribal life, in relation to the supreme reality from which their life flows. The Karimojong are the Central Plains Nilotes who currently live in the North-eastern part of Uganda. Karamoja consists of different groups of people, which in this case I refer to as larger clans. From the northern part, are the Dodoth, Jie, Teuso (Iik), and the Labwor; in the central are the Matheniko in the same district with the Tepes who originally belong to Kalenjin group of people.  Within the same vicinity of the central are the Bokora , and Nyakwai (originally of Luo origin). In the south are the Pian (which includes Chekwii of Namalu), and the Pokot at the extreme boarder to Kenya. Nature has blessed Ngikarimojong with a semi-arid climate; it is therefore for this reason that the Karimojong do not practice agriculture in a large footing like the rest of the Ugan
Read more