ALL HUMAN BEINGS ARE EQUAL SINCE WE ALL ARE BORN UNDER SIMILAR SEXUAL REPRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY, PREGNANCY, GESTATION, GROWTH AND SPECIES SURVIVAL INSTINCT AND ALL RETURN TO THE SAME EQUALITY AT DEATH

INTEGRATIONAL SPIRITAN MOVEMENT IS A FELLOWSHIP BUILT ON SIMPLE TRUTHS OF NATURE OBSERVABLE AROUND HUMANKIND

The difference between this spiritual fellowship for all mankind irrespective of one’s nationality, philosophy of life, social status, educational achievement or political persuasion and other religious fellowships is that there is nothing here that is built on mythologies, fables, legends, dogmas, doctrines, belief systems or revealed truths!

Rather, what the founder of this interdisciplinary, inter-ethnic and integrational spiritual fellowship has done is to provide simple facts of nature that unites rather than divides the human race. Every being is a product of nature! It argues that since there is only:

·        One created universe, of which we all share its amenities,

·        One earth, on which we all stand, walk about, build our physical structures, plant on, harvest from and depend on for our food,

·        One atmospheric air that living things breathe from to live,

·        One rainfall that provides the water for all plants and animals,

·        One sun and a moon that illuminate the world day and night,

·        One anatomy and physiology that ensures our survival or death,

·        Therefore, there must One Almighty Creator, who is the ultimate designer and engineer responsible all that we can think, say, hear, feel and see! He/she is our Father/Mother and we are all sons and daughters of this Infinite Truth that grants us life! Are we not brothers and sisters, irrespective of our skin colour, facial structures, languages and peculiar child rearing practices? We are surely, equal heirs to this commonwealth of mutually beneficent, compensatory and life-sustaining gifts from the Almighty God, the All-knowing, All-sustaining and All-powerful Creator of us all!

This truth is inter-religious, interdenominational, intercultural, interdisciplinary and finally international! Simple statements of facts like these are incontrovertible, aren’t they? We inter-marry and reproduce healthy babies! So, why must we follow demonic leaders, spiritual or temporal, who delude us with their myopic ideas and ethnocentric theories into practising social prejudices that eventually result in fighting and killing of our own brothers and sisters? It is not only puerile and futile but also irrational and psychopathological! Let us seek for a solution! I. S. M. seeks that!

In addition, to prove the supremacy of this truth, let me equally introduce you to a hilarious debate by three naïve bodyguards of an ancient emperor who was suffering from insomnia! He practised racial segregation and social prejudice.

You will marvel at the gift of oratory of these simple but wise young men. Please get a complete copy of the Good News Bible, 1979 edition by Collins ISBN 0 564 00621 1, by British & Foreign Bible Society (Publishing Division) as “English TEV DC053P BFBS/1984/50M” and then turn with me to 1^st Esdras 3 & 4:

“Chapter 3:

The Debate of the Bodyguards before the Emperor

v.1:   Darius the emperor gave a great banquet for all those under him, all the members of his family and staff, all the leading officials of Persia and Media,

v.2:   All his officers, administrators, and the governors of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Sudan.

v.3:   When everyone had had enough to eat and drink, they left, and Darius went to bed. He fell asleep but soon awoke.

A Contest Is Proposed

v.4:   Then the three young men who served Emperor Darius as his personal bodyguard said to one another,

v.5:    “Let each of us name the one thing that he considers the strongest thing in the world. The emperor will decide who has given the wisest answer to this question and will give magnificent gifts and prizes to the winner.

v.6:   He will wear royal robes, drink from a gold cup, and sleep in a gold bed. He will have a chariot with gold-studded bridles, wear a fine linen turban, and have a gold necklace.

v.7:   Because of his wisdom he will be an adviser to the emperor and will be given the title ‘Relative of the Emperor.’ ”

v.8:   Then each of them wrote down the best answer he could  think of, sealed it, and  put it under the emperor’s pillow. They said to one another.

v.9:   “When the emperor wakes up, the statements will be given to him. He and the three leading officials of Persia will decide who gave the wisest answer. The winner will be given the prize on the basis of what he has written.”

v.10:  The first wrote, “There is nothing stronger than wine.”

v.11:  The second wrote, “There is nothing stronger than the emperor.”

v.12:  And the third wrote, “There is nothing stronger than a woman, but truth can conquer anything.”

v.13:  When the emperor woke up, the written statements were given to him, and he read them

v.14:  Then he sent messengers and called together all the leading officials of Persia and Media, including the chief officers, administrators, governors, and commissioners.

v.15:  He took his seat in the council chamber and had the three statements read aloud. 

v.16:  “Bring in the three young men,” he said, “and let them explain their answers.” So when they were brought in,

v.17:  They were asked to explain what they had written.

The Speech about Wine

The bodyguard who had written about the strength of wine spoke first:

v.18:  “Gentlemen,’ he began, “wine is clearly the strongest thing in the world. It confuses the mind of everyone who drinks it.

v.19:  It has exactly the same effect on everyone: king or orphan, slave or free, rich or poor.

v.20:  It makes every thought happy and carefree, and makes everyone forget sorrow and responsibility.

v.21:  It makes everyone feel rich, ignore the power of kings and officials, and talk as if he owned the whole world.

v.22:  When men drink wine, they forget who their friends and neighbours are, and then they are soon drawing their swords to fight them.

v.23:  then, when they sober up, they don’t remember what they have done.

v.24:  Gentlemen” he finished by saying, “if wine makes men act in this way, it certainly must be the strongest thing in the world.”

Chapter 4:

The Speech about the Emperor

v.1:   The bodyguard who had written about the strength of the emperor spoke next. 

v. 2:   “Gentlemen,” he began, ‘nothing in the world is stronger than men, since they rule over land and sea and in fact, over everything in the world.

v. 3:   But the emperor is the strongest of them all; he is their lord and master, and men obey him, no matter what he commands.

v.4:   If he tells them to make war on one another, they do it. If he sends them out against his enemies, they go, even if they have to breakdown mountains, walls, or towers.

v.5:   They may kill or be killed, but they never disobey the emperor’s orders.  If they are victorious, they bring him all their loot and everything else they have taken in battle.

v.6:   Farmers do not go out to war, but even they bring to the emperor a part of everything they harvest.

v.7:  Although the emperor is only one man, if he orders people to kill, they kill, if he orders them to set prisoners free, they do it;

v.8:   if he orders them to attack, they do; if he orders destruction, they destroy; if he orders them to build, they build;

v.9:  if he orders crops to be destroyed or fields to be planted, it is done.

v.10:  Everybody, soldier or civilian, obeys the emperor. And when he sits down to eat or drink and then falls asleep,

v.11:  his servants stand guard round him, without being able to go and take care of their own affairs, for they never disobey him.

 v.12:  Gentlemen” he ended by saying, “since people obey the emperor like this, certainly nothing in the world is stronger than he is.” 

The Speech about Women

v.13:  The bodyguard who had written about women and the truth – it was Zerubbabel – spoke last.

v.14:  “Gentlemen,” he began, “the emperor is certainly powerful but, men are numerous, and wine is strong, but who rules and controls them all? It is women!

v.15:  Women gave birth to the emperor and all the men who rule over land and sea.

v.16:  Women brought them into the world. Women brought up the men who planted the vineyards from which wine comes.

v.17:  Women make the clothes that men wear; women bring honour to men; in fact, without women, men couldn’t live.

v.18:  “Men may accumulate silver or gold or other beautiful things, but if they see a woman with a pretty face or a good figure,

v.19:  they will leave it all to gape and stare, and they will desire her more than their wealth.

v.20:  A man will leave his own father, who brought him up, and leave his own country to get married.

v.21;  He will forget his father, his mother, and his wife.

v.22:  So you must recognise that women are your masters. Don’t you work and sweat and then take all that you have earned and give it to your wives?

v.23:  A man will take his sword and go out to attack, rob and steal, and sail the seas and rivers.

v.24:  He may have to face lions or travel in the dark, but when he has robbed, stolen, and plundered, he will bring the loot home to the woman he loves.

v.25:  Ä man loves his wife more than his parents.

v.26:  Some men are driven out of their minds on account of a woman, and others become slaves for the sake of a woman.

v.27:  Others have been put to death, have ruined their lives, or have committed crimes because of a woman.

v.28:  So now do you believe me? “The emperor’s power is certainly great- no nation has the courage to attack him.

v.29:  But once I saw him with Apame, his concubine, the daughter of the famous Bartacus. While she was sitting at the emperor’s right,

v.30:  she took his crown off his head, put it on her own, and then slapped his face with her left hand.

v.31:  All the emperor did was look at her with his mouth open. Whenever she smiles at him, he smiles back; and when she gets angry with him, he flatters her and teases her until she is in a good mood again.

v.32:  Gentlemen, if a woman can do all that, surely there can be nothing stronger in the world.”

v.33:  The emperor and his officials just looked at each other.

The Speech about Truth

Then Zerubbabel began to speak about truth.

v.34:  “Yes, gentlemen,” he said, “women are very strong. But think how big the earth is, how high the sky is; think how fast the sun moves, as it rapidly circles the whole sky in a single day.

v.35:  If the sun can do this, it is certainly great. But truth is greater and stronger than all of these things.

v.36:  Everyone on earth honours truth; heaven praises itl all creation trembles in awe before it. “There is not the slightest injustice in truth.

v.37:  You will find injustice in wine, the emperor, women, all human beings, in all they do, and in everything else. There is no truth in them; they are unjust and they will perish.

v.38:  But truth endures and is always strong; it will continue to live and reign for ever.

v.39:  Truth shows no partiality or favouritism; it does what is right, rather than what is unjust or evil. Everyone approves what truth does;

v.40:  its decisions are always fair. Truth is strong, royal, powerful, and majestic for ever. Let all things praise the God of Truth!”

The Response

v.41:  When Zerubbabel had finished speaking, all the people shouted, “Truth is great- there is nothing stronger!”

v.42: Then the emperor said to him, “You may ask anything you want, even more than what was agreed, and I will give it to you.  You will be my adviser, and you will be granted the title ‘Relative of the emperor.”’

The philosophical drama and narrative ends here!

COMMENTARY

Of course, Zerubbabel went ahead to request a greater favour for the whole of his nation that was in bondage! Read the rest of the story. What should interest you is that TRUTH IS SUPREME. Give truth a special place of honour in your heart and speech. This is our position at I. S. M. Truth is bitter, but so is any medicine taken to recover from any debilitating disease. The world today needs an overdose of truth to recover from religious fanaticism, social prejudice and the various forms of idolatry existing today in human relationships! God is the Infinite truth and is definitely stronger than the sun, wine, emperor and women! So should all that worship him!

RITUALS  AND LITURGIES ARE MAN-MADE BY RELIGIOUS DEMAGOGUES WHO LIVED OFF THE SWEAT OF OUR ANCESTORS

There was neither a ceremonial ritual on the day each of us was conceived nor any throughout the gestational period. No ritual or liturgy chaperoned our mothers till labour pains begin; therefore, the man-made ritual of baptism is not only exploitative but fetish.

After a child is ninety days old, the immediate blood relatives may gather in a simple thanksgiving event and the oldest male, the oldest female, the youngest male and finally the youngest female prays to the Almighty for the gift of the newborn that has increased the numerical strength of the lineage.

A simple entertainment using local items of food and drink are shared, dancing and merriment may round off the event that should hold in moonlight.

I. S. M is the medicine that our generation desperately needs to sanitise the landscape of personality cults that today parade as religions! Take out time, days, weeks or even years to evaluate every sentence you have read.  JOIN US IN THIS ONEROUS DUTY!

We are seeking for original thinkers who can identify the truth whenever they see one. The world is tired of mystics and fanatics. It is time to put an end to so many ethnocentric theories, mythologies or legends dressed up as dogmas and doctrines.