Ghana, A 'Christian' Nation With A Vanishing Conscience

I have often said that no country can develop economically and socially past its spiritual intelligence. Spiritual intelligence is defined in this context as our capacity to ask questions about the ultimate meaning of life and the integrated relationship between us and the world in which we live. We need to be conscious that no one is alone but that we are part of a whole. No nation can develop without an excellent national character.

One of the American founding fathers, John Adams, wrote, "Our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Another founding father wrote, "For many Americans, the big question of independence hung on the single, slender thread of whether the people were sufficiently virtuous and moral to govern themselves. Self-government was generally referred to as 'republicanism,' and a corrupt and selfish people could never make the principles of republicanism operate successfully." He maintained that only virtuous people are capable of freedom. He continues, "As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." Public virtue is not only admirable but rather is necessary for well-functioning societies. Our collective conscience as a nation must be alert to make self-government possible.

The Oxford dictionary defines conscience as the part of our minds that tell us whether our actions are right or wrong. St. Augustine, in the Christian tradition, considered conscience as the voice of God, informing us of what is right and wrong. According to Augustine, this message comes to us intuitively. We have that uneasy awareness when we know we have done something wrong. For Augustine, conscience constitutes the inward self-awareness through which the soul is called and challenged by the authority of truth. It is part of our moral reasoning: an inner chamber in which we call out to God and where God can hear us by the majesty of his presence.

Conscience is a gift from God; we can sharpen it as we get closer to God or sear it as we depart further away from God's presence. The people of God can also have what I describe as "Moral Inversion." Moral inversion is when we call good evil and evil good. God people experienced a Moral Inversion because of their sinfulness: they had cauterized conscience and heart. The prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 5:20, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." In Ghana, insulters are called celebrities and truth-tellers ostracized, maligned, and castigated.

For the Christians, what or who we meet in conscience is none other than Christ. To occupy the place of conscience and repossess moral consciousness, the apostle Paul writes in Philippians 4:8, " Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." As Christians, we have no choice but to call evil by its name and good by its name.

The church is to be the salt of our community or society, to purify it, but it is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. A community of Christ-followers that is supposed to be the world's light is now the darkness of our community with all kinds of anti-social activities running amok. This dark and broad road was paved by introducing a false gospel that exploits its devotees through social and psychological manipulation. The prosperity gospel has opened a Pandora's Box: it is the ultimate 21st-century version of the myth of Pandora's Box, the self-destructive power that Christianity has gained that we can never put back. The prosperity gospel changed the Christian gospel using sophistry, chicanery, and sleight of hands. They took the authentic Christian gospel and poured their meaning into it. Their unbiblical gospel asks people to seek the kingdom of the world first instead of God's kingdom.

While the prosperity gospel found sophisticated ways and sophistry to lure and exploit the educated elites, the leaders of the syncretic churches like Oboufour and Obinim also adopted the crudest strategies along the same way to deceive and financially rape the uneducated and the uninitiated section of the community. What Obinim and Agradaa do is not that different from what the prosperity preachers do to the educated Ghanaian elites? The present church in Ghana is not different from the world of the pagans. The church and the world have lost their moral bearings: they are equally corrupt. Ghanaians do not trust one another: a recent world study on trust reveals that 15% of Nigerians trust one another, but only 5% of Ghanaians trust one another.

Recent development in our body politics should alert us that all is not well with our country. Our problem is not a lack of resources, education, or technology but a lack of character. Our country is bathing in moral anarchy where all evil appetites range unchecked, yet no one seems to mourn over the moral decadence into which our country has plunged. Our bent for deception and fraud is unparalleled in the country's history.

I remember asking one of my high school teachers who had returned from Canada after completing masters in Economics this question, "Can you identify the causes of Ghana's economic problems?" I thought the man would give me a lecture on Economics, but he said with a sigh, "Ghana does not have any economic problems." I said, "What?" He said we do not have economic problems, but instead, we have social and moral problems. He said, "If we can deal with our social and moral issues, the economic problems will vanish." I think that thoughtful man was right as I ponder his response to my question.

Vaclav Havel observed, "Genuine politics -- even politics worthy of the name -- is simply serving those around us: serving the community and those who will come after us. Its deepest roots are moral because it is a responsibility expressed through action, to and for the whole." Unfortunately, our leaders do not understand that no person is alone but that we are part of the whole.

We need to step back and do a soul-searching exercise to discover how we lost our soul as a nation. As a nation, our soul is built on the premise that most Ghanaians are decent, hardworking, honest people, peace-loving, hospitable, sociable, affable, and honest people. The faith that an individual can attain success and virtue through hard work and genuine business was the soul of the Ghanaian nation. We were considered the paragon of virtue in West Africa. But now, we have failed to live up to these virtues bequeathed to us by our forefathers.

We have to step back to consider our cultural and historical background that made us unique people that outsiders wanted to live with. We need to discover our humanity before we can build Ghana. Only Ghanaians can alter how we perceive and respond to the institution of government and power. There is a need for a full-scale ontological change, a change that takes place amid continuity rather than creates a beginning. Instead of seeking our selfish interests, we should strive to leave our imprints on our nation. We should start to think about the glory and fame of integrity and honesty.

We learn that the Homeric warriors fought for honor, glory, and fame in the Homeric epics. Glory or fame was the only kind of immortality available to a Homeric warrior and is of the utmost importance that every prominent warrior strives for it, often in a type of battle-prowess. For instance, Achilles links glory and honor with immortality or imperishability. Imperishable glory is the only meaningful immortality available to a Homeric warrior, but it can only be gained through losing a life. Yet people were willing to die for glory.

The same drive for glory caused our forefathers to lay down their lives to build Ghana. As a child, I heard about people like Tweneboa Kodua of Kumawu and Yaa Asantewaah who were willing to die for their people. We heard about the military prowess and heroism of people like Yaa Asantewaa and others who put their lives on the line for our independence. We heard that our land is expensive because it was bought with the precious blood of our forefathers. They shed their blood on our behalf to redeem us from colonialism. These accounts were inspirations to us. We were told to put our country first when we were growing up. This was the foundation of our nation: A nation built on the premise of self-sacrifice and self-denial. Where, when, and how did we lose it?

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