Religulous

The very first night of my staying in Adina’s house, the subject of my faith came up. I told her plainly that I was Jewish, and she was very accepting – she stated that Judaism was a kind of Christianity, and she didn’t understand why I didn’t just believe in the true Lord and His son. I kind of laughed it off (it was the first night, I had to tread softly!) and suggested I go to her church sometime. I’m actually kind of looking forward to the service; Pentecostal services in Ghana are supposed to be quite a show.

Isaac is taking his final exams this week. Today, he took English and a course called “Religion and Moral Education.” Keep in mind that there’s no separation of church and state here in Ghana – Christianity is the official national religion, but there’s a sufficiently large Islam population that other religions are tolerated.

Isaac showed me his practice exam for the religion test, and here are some sample questions:

Q: Jesus fasted for ___ before He was tempted by satan
A: 40 days – I actually got this one right!

Q: Mohammed received his ________ at al Sakharat
A: Last revelation? I didn’t know this, but Isaac was pretty certain

Q: Traditional believers worship God through ______
A: Lesser gods

I asked Isaac to explain that last question. He explains that “traditional believers” worship false idols and not the real God, so Christians have to inform them that they’re praying through those idols to God.

I ask him if he’s ever heard of Hinduism. He shakes his head but Adina, cooking potatoes nearby, grunts. I tell him it’s a very interesting religion with great stories about deities with the heads of animals and bodies of humans. (Please note that I’m not a qualified theology professor (heck, I’m not even a qualified explainer), so please please please don’t hate me Divya/Akhil/everybody for my simplified explanation.) Isaac chuckles at the thought of such gods, but Adina says simply, “It’s wrong.” I object, saying that it’s a different but interesting take on belief, it’s been around longer than Christianity, and the stories are what make the religion interesting. She is a little upset about my discussion of such paganism in her household and cuts her potatoes in silent disapproval, so I change the subject back to Isaac’s tests and ask him about how he studies.

Apparently he doesn’t. I ask him why not and he explains, “If you think too hard then you won’t get it.” I tell him that only studying the night before a test is bad, but studying over a couple of days will really help you learn the material. I offer to help him study, but he left his books at school and doesn’t want my help. I’ll keep trying.