Sex Education

As I read the Sunday Times and Sunday Mail of 27th June, I noted with interest that both the Times and the Mail were running stories on sex education. It seems both articles were spurred by the Ministry of Education’s introduction of Reproductive Heath as a new subject in primary and secondary schools.

The Sunday Times ran an article on page 6 titles “Sex Education is it right or wrong”. The Sunday Times reporter (the reporters name was not provided) opted to explore the issue by taking an informal survey of opinions that mainly focused on the social acceptability of the proposals. The Sunday Mail ran an article by Chambo Ng’uni, Chimwemwe Mwale, Monica Mayuni, Christine Chisha and Elizabeth Sakala titled “Should Sex Education be Introduced in Schools?” This article seemed to focus on the validity of the objectives of sex education.

In light of the fact that both public newspapers are running stories on sex education I thought that it would be appropriate for salt and light Zambia to try and look at the subject from a Biblical viewpoint.

Persons wiser than I have noted that it is good practice to start a discussion by defining terms, and so I will start by stating the definition of Sex Education provided by the Sunday Times. According to the article in the Times (Which itself sites an unnamed website) Sex Education is “the process of acquiring information and forming attitudes and beliefs about sex, sexual identity, relationships and intimacy”. This definition is pregnant with meaning and reading through both articles I believe that the full implications of Sex Education are not considered. In both articles the focus seemed to be on Sex Education as a process that talked about the nuts and bolts of having sex. Looking at the definition provided however sex education has a much broader agenda. Sex Education looks at attitudes toward sex, what you think and feel about sex, and seeks to impart a right attitude towards sex. Sex Education looks at sexual identity, it seeks to define what it means to be a man or a woman and be a sexual being. It looks at relationships and sex, in other words how to conduct your relationships as a sexual being. It looks at intimacy, in other words how to conduct a sexual relationship. I think that in many ways sex education is a Trojan horse. It uses the words “sex” and “education” to create the impression that it is educating people on the science of sex, when its real agenda is to shape the sexual behavior of a generation.

As you know the discussion of Sex Education could fill many libraries and an extended discussion of Sex Education is simply not possible in a blog post. What I do hope to do however is to discuss Sex Education in relation to the themes that emerged in the two articles over the course of a few weeks.

The following are themes that I picked up:

The social appropriateness of Sex Education;

The usefulness of Sex Education in Prevention of Child Abuse, Sexually Transmitted Infections, unsafe abortions and Pregnancy;

Sex Education as a response to sex saturated media;

Sex Education as a tool for the promotion of family planning;Sex Education as an answer to children’s questions on their sexuality;

The Appropriate age for the commencement of Sex Education;

Sex Education in the Church;

Sex Education as a promoter of healthy male/female relationships;

Sex Education and Zambian taboos;

Sex Education as a promoter of premature sexual behavior;

HIV and Sex Education; and

Parents and Sex Education.

Whew, hope I'll get through it!

Funeral Essentials

As I was surfing the Internet I came across a blog post on the essentials for a Christian funeral service. The writer listed the following:

1. The Unchanging character of God;


2. The hope of the gospel;


3. A call to respond to the gospel;


4. Instruct those present how to grieve;

You can read the whole post here

Zambia the Christian Nation Pt 1

Few things have stirred the emotions of Zambian Christians to the extent that the Declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation has. Many Christian's are enthusiastically in support of the declaration and have passionately campaigned for its inclusion in the draft Constitution. A few have been more reserved in their support of the declaration and have queried it from theological and civil perspectives.

During the debates over the declaration it has emerged that the understanding of what the declaration means and what its implications are vary from person to person and from group to group. In today's post I will briefly outline five understandings of the declaration and discuss each understanding in greater detail in future posts.

The Declaration as a Sociological Statement

This understanding of the declaration holds that a majority of Zambians are Christians and the nations Constitution should therefore identify Zambia as a country that is predominately Christian.

The Declaration as a Policy Direction Statement

This understanding builds on the previous understanding and goes further to argue that because the majority of Zambians are Christians Zambia's public policies should be based upon and compatible with Christian values.

The Declaration as a Moral Statement

This understanding also builds on the first and goes on to argue that the morals of the people of Zambia should be in line with the Bible.

The Declaration as a Covenant With God

This understanding looks at the declaration as a covenant or contract with God. According to this understanding, the Zambian people have pledged allegiance to Yahweh and he will bless our nation because of our pledge of allegiance.

The Declaration as an Act of Faith

In understanding is a variation on the last. According to this understanding our faith creates reality and if we declare Zambia to be a Christian nation then by faith it will be a Christian nation. According to this understanding the reverse is also true, if we say that Zambia is not a Christian nation then because of our belief Zambia will not be a Christian nation.

The Declaration as a Tool to Prevent Social Change

The last understanding of the declaration (at least as far as I can tell) is that the declaration is a tool to maintain the current social status quo. Those who hold this understanding believe that the foreign elements in our society who are actively trying to introduce anti Christan cultural elements to our society such as homosexuality. Adherents of this position believe that if the Constitution declares Zambia a Christian nation, the declaration can be used as a basis for criminalising or at least discouraging the activities of these elements.

Okay, those are the understandings that I have picked upon on. Over the next few weeks I intend to examine each of these from a Biblical and civil view point to see if the understandings hold water. I would appreciate your input on this at any stage.

Social Justice

After the Bob Marley post I felt that it might be helpful to have a few more posts that examine the relationship between the Biblical worldview and social justice. This is an extract from a blog post by Al Mohler.

Faithful Christians can debate the proper and most effective means of organizing the political structure and the economic markets. Bringing all these things into submission to Christ is no easy task, and Gospel must not be tied to any political system, regime, or platform. Justice is our concern because it is God's concern, but it is no easy task to know how best to seek justice in this fallen world.

And that brings us to the fact that the Bible is absolutely clear that injustice will not exist forever. There is a perfect social order coming, but it is not of this world. The coming of the Kingdom of Christ in its fullness spells the end of injustice and every cause and consequence of human sin. We have much work to do in this world, but true justice will be achieved only by the consummation of God's purposes and the perfection of God's own judgment.

Until then, the church must preach the Gospel, and Christians must live out its implications. We must resist and reject every false gospel and tell sinners of salvation in Christ. And, knowing that God's judgment is coming, we must strive to be on the right side of justice.

The rest of Dr. Mohlers article can be read here.

Truth Magazine

Next time you are shopping I would encourage you to pass by the Magazine rack and buy a copy of the latest (?) magazine on the market “Truth”. Truth is a Christian magazine edited by Mundia Lubinda and published by the Doxa Music and Lighthouse Media Group. From its tone and content I would say that the magazine is aimed at the young, urban and middle class Christian. Whatever, your demographic (group of people) you belong to I would encourage you buy and read at least one issue of the magazine.

So what is it like you ask? I will try and describe it. Truth is a lifestyle magazine. It is a collection of reflections on Zambian Christian life, interviews with prominent Christians and discussions on topics of spiritual interest to the magazines target audience. The fourth issue of the Magazine includes interviews with Chilu Lemba, Ephraim and articles in defense of the single woman, on abortion and Easter.

What did I think of it? Starting on a positive note, it has great packaging. This magazine’s packaging is of international standard. The magazine has an attractive layout, great photographs and graphics. The magazine is a feast for the eyes. Secondly, the magazine is a welcome addition to the Christian publication market. Currently the Zambian market offers little in the way of light reading on issues that affect the everyday life of the ordinary Christian. Some would say the light reading element is a drawback. I would beg to differ if I wanted heavier theological discussion I would read a systematic theology and not a magazine!

On the negative side I think some of the articles lacked a distinctive Christian flavor. Christians are citizens of heaven and this fact should reflect itself even in our discussion of everyday issues. In New Testament times even ladies fashion was discussed from an eternal perspective (1 Timothy 3:1). I felt that certain articles lacked this perspective. For example, the article “in defense of the single woman”, the topic of the aging spinster is tackled primarily from a social perspective. One wonders whether Bible offers no counsel on women “losing their chance”, advancing their career, dealing with insecure man and pushy relatives. Another, negative is the advertising and promotion. The Magazine is published by the Doxa group and there is considerable promotion of Doxa artists. What problem do I have with this? Well this presents the reader with a partial picture of what is happening on the Zambian Christian music scene. I know that there are many Zambian Christians that are putting their heart and soul into recording music of fair quality. I think that a magazine like Truth should support these Christians even if they are not on the Doxa label.

Overall, despite the areas in which the magazine can grow it is a welcome addition to the Zambian Christian market and should be supported.

Get Up Stand Up!

By way of introduction I would like to state that I grew up listening to Bob Marley. During my childhood I heard Dad play a lot of Marley on the family record player as he relaxed after hours or over the weekend. Over the years I developed a liking for the man's music. I liked a lot of things about the music; the rhythm of the music, I liked the pulsating bass lines, I liked Bob's evocative vocal delivery, I liked the celebration of life captured in the lyrics and I liked the poignant cries for justice in the music. Simply put I believed that Bob was one of the greatest artists of all time.

These days I do not listen to a lot of Marley. The primary reason being after I trusted in Christ, I wanted everything in my life to be primarily about Jesus. This involved modifying the kind and amount of entertainment that I consumed. Pretty early on in my process of developing a "Christian Entertainment Policy", a number of Marley's songs began to strike me as disturbing and in some cases anti-Christian. One song that fell into the disturbing and anti – Christian category was the classic "Get up Stand Up!"

‘Get Up Stand Up!’, was originally released on the Wailers album ‘Burning’ and has subsequently been released in a number of compilations. Most music critics agree that this song is one of Marley's strongest songs lyrically and musically. The song was and has been loved by the record buying public for over three decades and remains one of the artist’s signature tunes. On a personal level the song was one of my favorites, I was particularly moved by Peter Tosh's verse. Listening to his delivery just made me tingle. So with credentials like that what's my beef? Basically, the message in the music is not just non Christian, it is anti Christian. Let’s walk through the song verse by verse and see what I am talking about.

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!

Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!

The song starts with its famous infectious chorus. As a point of interest most people I know that are familiar with the song can only remember these four lines! The Chorus contains a mere nine words and takes twenty three seconds to deliver, but to Marley fans, they are pregnant with meaning. Since the early seventies, fans have identified with these lyrics as an anthem of resistance against injustice. As a Christian I do not have beef with the Chorus per se since if the Apostle Paul is to be taken as an example there are times that Christians can 'stand up for their rights' Acts 25:11.

Preacher man, don't tell me, Heaven is under the earth.

I know you don't know What life is really worth.

It's not all that glitters is gold;

Alf the story has never been told:

So now you see the light, eh!

Stand up for your rights. come on!

After reading the lyrics it is clear that Marley has beef with Christianity. In his view Christianity values life in heaven over and against life on earth. Marley implies that these beliefs keep Christians from acting against injustice in this world. Okay, that’s Marley’s position. The question is, whether his position is fair or true? I believe it would be true to say that as Christians our ethics are shaped by the Bibles teaching on creation, fall, redemption, judgment and the “final state”. When making decisions about life the Christian will bear in mind that this life is passing away and the eternal state is yet to come. I believe that Marley is however wrong to believe that Christianity does not value life on earth or is not concerned with justice in this life. The Bible has much to say on the topic of justice on sthis side of Judgment day. Just read through Amos Chapter 5 to get a flavour of God's concern for justice in this life. It follows that if God is concerned with injustice in this life so should the Christian, however, they are to bear in mind that ultimately the second coming of Christ will right every wrong and wipe the tear out of every believer’s eye. So in conclusion, Marley is right that the Christian belief in the coming kingdom influences their decisions, but he is wrong to believe that this leads to indifference about Justice in this life.

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!

Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!

Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!

Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!

Most people think, Great god will come from the skies,

Take away everything And make everybody feel high.

But if you know what life is worth, You will look for yours on earth:

And now you see the light,

You stand up for your rights. jah!

In this verse Marley steps up the anti – Christian rhetoric. Marley tells the believer that they are not to place their hope in Christ’s kingdom but rather seek justice in this life. Well, there is a lot that can be said about this but I will say these three things. Firstly, on a purely human level Marley is naïve! Human action has never resulted in justice and peace. History proves this. Secondly, Marley sidesteps Christian arguments for the second coming. In order for Marley’s position to be taken seriously, it ought to wrestle with the claims of Christianity and not simply dismiss them. While there is not enough space in this blog to give an adequate response to Marley taunts but, there are several excellent arguments for God’s existence and the fact that he will return to judge the world. Among these are; Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, The God Who is There by Francis Shaffer, The Reason for God by Tim Keller and Simply Christian by N.T. Wright. Thirdly, this verse makes Bob Marley a denier of God's word and this makes the song unsuitable for Christian listening.

Get up, stand up! (jah, jah! )

Stand up for your rights! (oh-hoo! )

Get up, stand up! (get up, stand up! )

Don't give up the fight! (life is your right! )

Get up, stand up! (so we can't give up the fight! )

Stand up for your rights! (lord, lord! )

Get up, stand up! (keep on struggling on! )

Don't give up the fight! (yeah! )

We sick an' tired of-a your ism-skism game -

Dyin' 'n' goin' to heaven in-a Jesus' name, lord.

We know when we understand:

Almighty god is a living man.

You can fool some people sometimes,

But you can't fool all the people all the time.

So now we see the light (what you gonna do?),

We gonna stand up for our rights! (yeah, yeah, yeah! )

In this verse Peter Tosh questions the Christian belief in the afterlife and the Christian concept of God. Let’s deal with Tosh’s position on the afterlife. I believe that as the person denying the proposition that there is an after life; Tosh must prove that there is not afterlife. While skeptics may say that there is no empirical (sense based) evidence of life after death, skeptics cannot prove that life does not continue after death in a way that cannot be established by our senses. Put another way. Tosh does not and I would argue cannot prove his point and therefore should not be taken seriously. Moving on to Tosh’s assertion that humans are God (or gods?). It is true that the Bible speaks of humanity as being in the image of God and the man Jesus Christ as being God, however, the idea in the song is that God is part of creation which is just not true. The concept of God, holds that an eternal, all powerful and eternal being created and is in control of the universe. Humans like you and me just do not qualify as God. Me are limited beings who can not determine whether we will wake up tomorrow. This is however, not to say that humans have no worth. On the contrary, the Christian believes, on the basis of the Bible, that all people are created in the image of God and as a result must be treated with a certain dignity. This verse is anti – Christian in the extreme and should not be listened to by Christians as entertainment.

So that’s it, Bob Marley’s classic, musically entertaining but anti – Christian in its message. It is more than an anthem against the injustices men commit against each other it is an anthem of mans rebellion against God.

Subduing the earth by advancing technology

God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28

We are supposed to subdue the earth, to ‘tame’ it and harness it. This means we are mandated to be both hard working and creative in our environment. One way we do this is through advancement in technology and new ways of relating to our environment. This means filling the earth and subduing are two different things. To subdue the earth, we do not only fill space, but we conquer, we harness, we manage and use wisely. This is a gradual process where each generation uses their skills and handed down knowledge to harness the environment. This also means each generation also hands down the resources and skills so that the next generation can (better) subdue the earth. After all, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children” (Prov. 13:22). Even if it is the skills to build upon and take it ever forward.

In this sense, God has sanctioned the scientific and developmental use of the earth and its resources. To properly subdue the earth we cannot ignore schooling, technology and environmentally considerate lifestyles. We must aim to leave our children better off than we are, and research and technology is one way.

One advance in Zambia is the use of conservation farming which involves varied techniques for minimum tillage and water use for maximum output and reduced erosion. When we knew no better we could not be accountable for the bad farming practices, but with such knowledge available, how can we be innocent of practices that yield meager harvests and finally render the land unfertile? We cannot be held accountable on the same level as past generations, when we have access to so much knowledge?

We can apply this in all areas of human endeavor. Are we as efficient in running our businesses, using electricity, managing the savannah eco-system, etc? DO we subdue the earth, or do we say “there is a lion in the street”? And sit back, waiting for someone else to do it?More than that; we need to stop frowning on research. So whether it is market and product research, or medical and mechanical, we need to do our part as a nation. We need to value the investments that will not see returns for years to come. We must be able to give the next generation something new, and not hand them the talent we buried, in fear of a perceived harsh task master.

The Zambian Christian and the Challenge of Funerals

If you are a Zambian Christian I am sure that every time you attend a funeral there are certain practices that you take exception to or that leave you with at least the suspicion that Jesus would not approve of them.

The following is taken from an article by Zambian theologian Joe Simfukwe on Funeral and Burial Rites:

“Sometimes misinformed Christians try to forbid other Christians from crying, forgetting that the Bible does not deny the emotions of grief. Jospeh a man of faith, ‘threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him’ when he died (Gen 50:1). People are often presented weeping or even wailing aloud (see mark 5:38; Luke 8:52; Acts 9:39). Nowhere is such wailing condemned. Excesses are certainly frowned upon but sorrow is expected”. P 1462 Africa Bible Commentary Word Alive Publishers.

“Some of the rituals associated with burial reflect a fear of the deceased. Thus in Zambia the body must be buried in the right direction to prevent the deceased from returning to haunt the living. The burial may be followed by other rituals designed to protect the living, such as passing through the funeral house and washing in medicated water before dispersing. Many tribes have an inheritance ceremony where the name and status of the deceased are passed on to some chosen relative. Ritual protection of the widow or widower is common, with the widow sometimes being inherited by a relative of the dead husband. The ritual cleansing may even require the surviving spouse to have intercourse with a relative of the deceased in order to protect himself or herself from the spirit of the deceased coming to seek sexual union, which is believed to be both possible and dangerous. The cleansing ritual is also a way of releasing the surviving partner so that he or she may safely enter new sexual relations with the blessing of the dead relative. Because of the spiritual and physiological power of such rituals, Christians should not simply ban them, but should thoughtfully and sensitively replace them with alternative rituals that will meet the spiritual and psychological needs of the fearful widow or widower” P 1462 Africa Bible Commentary Word Alive Publishers.

Sweeping to the Glory of God

This is quotation is from Zambian theologian Joe Kapolyo, the quotation is a part of a larger discussion on the implications of the fact that human beings are stewards of creation on aspects of Zambian culture (Genesis 1:28-31):

"stewardship affects our relationship to nature as well as our relationship to human beings. It seems to me that in regard to nature we are to be good stewards, and in relation to each other we are to love each other to avoid mindless exploitation of others. In both spheres our record is not something we can be proud of. Growing up in Zambia I have observed many a diligent house wife wake up early in the morning and Begin the day by sweeping around the house. Traditionally the implement used is called in bemba umukusao or iceswa. This is a small bundle of twigs about a metre long held in one hand and used to sweep dirt. This implement is very effective - perhaps too effective. It sweeps all before it, including the layer of top soil so necessary for sustaining growth of any kind. Every year tons of good top soil are swept away by hundreds of thousands of overzealous housewives; other sweepers and the rain come and take it all away and dump it into rivers, which take it down to the sea. As sweeping normally starts at the point of contact between the house and the surrounding area, in time the foundations of the house get exposed and some of the cracks that appear in many houses in the townships are a result of this form depletion of soil."P 62 the Human Condition Inter varsity Press

God and Women

It seems that there is a consensus building that conservative Christianity is against the woman. Critics of conservative Christianity say the faith is basedon a holy book that speaks from a patriarchal culture that that is out of touch with the current understanding of masculinity and femininity. A lot can be said about this view point ,but I think that something that is not said enough is contemporary critics of conservative Chrisianity frequently appear to be out of touch with what the Bible actually says about masculinity and femininity. When we allow the Bible to speak for itself we will find it has a suprisingly positive view of women.

Joe M. Kaployo a Zambian theologian discusses this in his book “The Human Condition: Christian Perspectives Through African Eyes” published by IVP. He starts by discussing women and the fact that they are created in the image of God. “…the scriptures unequivocally give men and women dignity and an exalted but equal status. Men and women bear the image of God in equal proportions (Genesis 1:26 -28). Since the image is described as ‘male and female’ it must mean at least that femininity is represented in the creator..” P 72

He then goes on to discuss the implications of the Bibles use of feminine descriptions of God. “Alongside the Lord’s dominant male imagery are a number of female ones (Stott 1984:238). For instance he described by Moses as ‘the God who gave you birth’ (Deuteronomy 32:18). In the first part of verse Moses had stated God was ‘the Rock that fathered you’. He uses male imagery there. In typical Hebraic fashion he repeats the same statement but this time he chooses to use female imagery. Moses knew God in ways most of us can only guess at. Yet he was not embarrassed, ashamed or did not consider it ‘hearsay’ to call God the mother of Israel. Isaiah the prophet also speaks of God as a ‘woman in childbirth’ (42:14), a suckling mother (49:15), a nursing mother (66:13). David the great king in describing his sense of security chooses mother/child imagery where God is mother and David the child (Psalm 131:2, see also 57:1, 61:4).” P 74

Thank God for the Christian faith.

Dance and Worship

If you have travelled to a European country you will notice that worship in any Zambian church is more "active" than in that Church's denominational counterparts in Europe.In thinking about this difference I have been greatly helped by Edmond P. Clowney's book "The Church" from the Contours of Christian Theology Series published by IVP.

I this book professor Clowney discusses spontaneous dance in the context of worship services. In his analysis he uses the concepts of "element" (aspects of worship and church governance that God explicitly commands in his word) and "circumstance" (aspects of worship and church governance should be ordered in the 'light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word').

"May dance also function as a circumstance, rather than an element of worship? We can not fault an individual worshipper who beats on his breast as the publican did in the temple. So long as good order is maintained in Congregational worship, there should be no objection to spontaneous movements of individuals in their natural responses of grief and praise. Like the running and leaping of the lame man in the temple, there may be impulsive piroutettes of joy on the part of worshipers. Again, the customs of a culture help determine the boundaries of good order. There are cultures where joyful singing is normally accompanied by rhythmic or ecstatic body movements." P 128

Now I know that this can be a hot button topic in some circles, if you are tempted to brand either the professor or myself as a heretic remembers the words "spontaneity" and "circumstance".