THE MEETING
IN
OLOFIN VILLAGE
LESSON 2
GOD IN ANIMISTIC BELIEF
LESSON TWO
Topic: God in Animistic Belief
Objective: This topic is intended to give the student a
broad understanding of animists’ belief in Supreme Being.
Students are able to compare and contrast the animistic
and Biblical concepts.
Duration:
1Hour
Story
15 minutes
Lessons
10 minutes
Questions for reflection
& Group Discussion
30 minutes
Memory Verse:
5minutes
Story: The Meeting in Olofin Village
Cheng sat among the young men. It's been a sorrowful week
in Olofin village and Cheng only wished he knew what to
do. Perhaps he did, he tried to convince himself but did
not know how to go about it. The court was a bit quiet
except for a few hushed voices – often sounding like
orders being passed down. A few of the high chiefs sat on
bare floor around the King and a couple of young men
fanned them with large hand fans made from rafia palm
leaves. Cheng wished he had something to fan himself with
too. The weather had become so hot.
During his survey, Cheng had discovered that infant
mortality was very high in Olofin village. Because of
that, he had delayed his coming to the village as a
missionary for a year so he could do a Basic Healthcare
Delivery course. Cheng had barely been in the village for
5 months when the deaths started.
Cheng looked at the King and wished he could be given an
opportunity to speak. But this much he had learnt – As a
foreigner if he spoke unsummoned, that would almost be
sacrilege. Besides, except for some young children in the
village and the third son of his landlord, nobody in the
village had given him an ear. But everything around him
told him this must be meningitis, a sickness that became
common in this weather and killed if not attended to. It
also spread fast. The windows were small and often stayed
shut in most homes. And because of the mosquitoes, the
people often tried to cover themselves with cloths.
Suddenly there was a hush in the court as one Orderly
walked briskly to one of the high chiefs, whispered
something in his ears who in turn got up and whispered
something to the King. Everywhere became so silent, Cheng
became conscious of his heart beat. The King looked up
and sighed in a low tone.
"What is it?" Cheng asked his friend absent-mindedly.
"Quiet!" the king returned without looking at Cheng.
The King then gave a nonverbal sign to the high chief who
had whispered to him to continue with something he was
meant to do. The high chief who looked older than the
King rose and in a very grave tone announced: "We just
got news that Otunba has lost his eldest son." There was
a sudden roar of wailing in the court room.
"There must not be any wailing in this court room" came
the baritone voice of the court administrator. "Silence,
silence! If you want to cry, please go outside."
Just then the King, noticing that the high chief who had
been speaking was finding it hard to continue, rose from
his throne. Everyone greeted "Long live the son of the
gods." Cheng shifted in his seat and the large room
became a lot quieter.
"I called you all this afternoon because we have a great
calamity. Every year, the gods take our young ones, but
this year has been a bad one. A very bad one." A couple
of voices chorused their agreement with the King's
assessment.
"Just now" the King continued, "we heard that my Otunba
has lost his son. Huum" he sighed. "The gods must be
angry with us" he concluded. "That is why I have asked
the Chief Priest to consult with the Oracle and he is
back and I would prefer that we all listen to him
together." He looked towards a priest who had a very
strange costume and had a white ring painted around his
left eye.
Ogi, the oldest oracle priest walked over to the King
dejectedly. He looked into the face of the King, then to
the villagers and then started, ‘‘The gods and spirits of
our ancestors are angry with us.’’
"Obviously, we know that, but why? Why?" a desperate male
voice asked from the crowd. The chief Priest did not look
too pleased with that interruption. His looks were enough
to restore the needed quiet.
"The only solution" he continued, "is for someone to
volunteer to go to heaven to appease the Supreme Being."
"Ah!" exclaimed one of the chiefs. "That is an impossible
task. Have you forgotten what happened to the first
person who tried it? Who will go to the home of the
invisible and immortal God; he does not live in the abode
of men but of the spirits?" ‘‘They acted like’’ it was a
curse in itself to even remember the story that had been
handed down to them.
Cheng only wondered what the story was all about. During
his research he had come across a myth the people of
Olofin held that had shaped their relationship to God and
to other forms of deities. Just then the King started
retelling the story.
"Some centuries ago, the sky was so close to our Olofin.
However, the people soon took him for granted. After
every meal, they would rub their dirty hands on the sky.
That annoyed God. One day, our people woke up to discover
that the sky had withdrawn so far. An oracle priest
offered to go to heaven to appease God on behalf of our
village. So how did he plan to go and return? ‘I will
make a chain that will reach up to heaven and use it as a
ladder to climb to reach heaven’ the oracle priest had
told the King of our people then. So very early the
second morning, the oracle priest embarked upon his
journey. Our people waited for his return. After some
days, the oracle priest came climbing down the chain. He
said he had climbed for many days, but could not reach
God. ‘God is too far away,’ he told them. After several
other ideas, the oracle priest then announced to our
people that he had an answer that would help for the mean
time. He told them that every one should take some object
and worship it as god. He assured them that it worked. So
our people have been doing till this day. That is why we
have so many gods. We know that they are not as kind as
the Supreme Being in the heaven, but we have to worship
them."
The King then stopped and turning to the Chief Priest, he
asked, "So how could the gods be asking us to go to the
Supreme Being in heaven again? Nobody can reach him."
Cheng prayed quietly, believing God to use this bad
situation in Olofin village to carve out a big door of
ministry to the people. "They are not far from the
kingdom", he kept repeating to himself.
LESSON
ANIMISTS BELIEF CONCERNING GOD AND HOW CHRISTIANS CAN
RESPOND TO THEM
Belief in Supreme Being
Olofin people, like most animists, believe in God. Indeed
they believe so strongly in God that they see everything
having its cause and effect from God. This belief
provided Cheng with a very good starting point. He would
not need to convince the people that God exists. Indeed,
the challenge would be to acquire their audience and
point them to how this God could be reached.
God is the creator of Man and the Universe
Animists believe that God is the creator of all things.
Virtually all animists embrace this belief. It is not
surprising then that many names given to God expresses
the idea that He is the creator. For example, He is
called Maker of all things, Creator of the universe,
Master Architect, Potter, Moulder etc. Some Animists
believe that God created the universe out of nothing
and then withdrew due to man’s wrongful acts.
However, it is good to note that some animists believe
that God created all things with the assistance of some
divinities that he gave the prerogative to.
Attributes of God
Animists believe in a good number of God's universal
attributes. Some of such attributes are described below:
God is a Spirit
Animists believe that God is a spirit being that is
eternal, invisible and cannot be fathomed. Most animists
almost never make any image of God. It is unfortunate
that early missionaries regarded the images they saw
animists worshipping as God. Some animists believe that
God is everywhere.
God is Immutable
Animists believe that God does not change. He is not
subject to the natural laws.
He is seen to be the same as ever. It is believed that
God cannot go into extinction.
God is the Mighty Ruler
Animists believe that God is the highest King with the
highest authority. Though, resident in the sky, he
oversees the whole earth from there. His rule is
sovereign and over all the earth. His verdict is believed
to be final as the ultimate ruler.
God is the Highest Judge
Animists believe that God is the highest judge. He is
often referred to as the one who sits in silence judging
the whole earth. Most animists believe that every wrong
doing will be judge by God even if it escapes the
judgment of the world. This belief encourages morality.
God is the Provider
Animists believe that God is the greatest provider who
provides for all his creation and sustains them day-byday.
God is Omnipotent
Animists believe that God is all powerful. This is
expressed in their confession that God has power to do
all things. It is believed that he alone can kill or make
alive. Some animists tend to resort to God alone after
all else have failed because they believe he is the
Supreme Being that cannot fail.
God is Omniscient
Animists believe that God is all-knowing. The belief is
that there is nothing that is hidden from him. He sees
all and hears all conversation. This belief enforces
morality as it is believed that all evil doers are seen
by God and will be punished no matter how long they hide.
God is Holy
Animists believe that God is pure and holy. He cannot be
faulted as he does no wrong.
He is often described by some animists as the God with a
white cloth. He has no blemish and so must be worshipped
in holiness. The adherents of animism are encouraged to
live and worship God with reverence because of this
belief.
God is self-existent
Animists believe that no one created God. He exists on
his own. No one gave birth to God.
Names of God
Each animistic people group has a name for God. Such
names connote a particular idea of God. Animists are very
rich in their ideas of God and there is no animistic
tribe without personal names for God. Some animistic
tribes see God as related to the moon, sun, star etc.
These galaxies are not God to them, but a manifestation
of God.
Some missionaries have wondered about the name to call
God when they go to evangelize unreached animistic
tribes.
Points of Departure
Cheng is in Olofin village because their understanding of
God does not comform to eternal truth. Like in Olofin
village the following are areas to look out for possible
deviations from the truths of the scripture:
a. The depth of God's holiness and subsequent hatred for
sin and the result of sin in death is not always
understood in Animism. God's justice would always demand
death as the penalty for sin. It was God's mercy and love
that paid the price through the death of Jesus to be
claimed by those who believe in Jesus Christ.
b. Animism cannot comprehend the closeness of God. He is
seen as somehow far away.
c.Animists know that God punishes, but the kind of things
that he hates are not always well understood. God hates
the worship of other gods or images supposed to be him.
Christian Response to animistic beliefs about God.
It is evident from the lessons above that animistic ideas
about God agree with the Bible. Thus the missionary need
not spend time proving to animists any of these things.
What a missionary needs to do is to find out from the
animists about what they already believe and use that as
springboard for further teaching.
Animists definitely need a better teaching from the Bible
as regards God.Such teachings should include the
following:
God is the only God, the only one we can worship (Exodus
20:3, Deuteronomy 5:7.
God created all things by himself without the aid of
other gods (Isaiah 44:24).
God loves man and desires to be close to man through the
indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17, 2 Cor. 1:22).
No intermediaries are needed between man and God, except
Jesus (Acts 4:12).
When a Christian goes to evangelize an unreached
animistic tribe, he or she should use the name the people
use for God rather than coinning a new one as long as the
idea of such name is not contrary to the Scriptures.
Questions for Reflection, Review and Group Discussion:
1. What stories or myths expressing Animistic beliefs in
God are you familiar with?
2. If you were in Cheng's situation, what would you start
doing to take advantage of the situation?
3. How would you use the story of God in the Olofin
village case to tell the true story?
4. What attributes of God can you identify from an
animistic background?
5. In what ways do you see similarities with God's
attributes as described in the Bible?
Memory Verse:
For the truth about God is known to them instinctively
God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time
the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky
and all that God made. They can clearly see His invisible
qualities – His eternal power and divine nature. So they
have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God (Romans 1:
19-20)