Men twa premye etid ke nou fè sou topik plizyè moun t ap tan n lan: Eske relijyon Krisyanis lan se heritaj moun nwa ak Afrik? Seri a gen senk etid. Nou fini ak twa premye yo.

1. Eske Relijyon Krisyanis lan se Eritaj Moun Nwa Li Ye? Oubyen se Relijyon Esklavajis li Ye ? (Premye Pati): https://lnkd.in/gcG6dRj6

2. Eske Relijyon Krisyanis lan se Eritaj Moun Nwa Li Ye? Premye dirijan Afriken kretyen (Dezyèm Pati): https://lnkd.in/gKdTPGK5

3. Eske Relijyon Krisyanis lan se Eritaj Moun Nwa Li Ye? Krisyanis Afriken an Ejip (Twazyèm Pati): https://lnkd.in/gVGVdyU5

“Ghosts of Love’s Past”

My new poem, “Ghosts of Love’s Past,” made my head hurt in the process of writing it and finding the right words and expressions to lament a love that was strong and eternal and now is lost and defeated. It took me about two weeks to write its final form.

This poem is about losses, downfalls, and defeats, and it does not look forward to future hope/s nor does it anticipate eschatological optimism. Therefore, you must buckle up your seatbelt and move on.

I would like to dedicate this poem to those who are (still) lamenting the ghosts of a past love. Yet I would like to encourage you to be strong and to reinvent yourself for better. Iin the words of the track and field sprinter champion Sha’ Carri Richardson, “[You are Not] I’m Not Back. [You are] I’m Better.”

“Ghosts of Love’s Past”

I dreamed that night when our love was lost.
A love once burning, now begins to wane.
I dreamed that night when you told me I was the reason.
In silhouettes of time, we found our shared journeys incomplete.
The mutual touch that once banished every care,
now left us both feeling lost and broken.

I dreamed of melodies that frustrated the lovers’ hearts.
You sent me blank pages and unfinished sentences to say I’ve lost you,
and dried purple orchids in springtime’s grace made it true.
The love that once bloomed in winter’s delight, now weakens.
Like an autumn seed, it fell among the wildflowers in the graveyard.
As we must no longer stay,
we crossed the river solo.

I won’t write to you anymore.
You don’t need to read my secret thoughts.
You had sworn to curse the memories that once tied our fragile hearts.
I had chosen not to cross your borders.
From body to heart, our souls drifted apart,
falling in the storm shuts down light and joy.
In emptiness, we both drowned, buried our wars, and our defeats.

I took ships and boats to part ways.
The promises you made are now shattered and torn.
Our dreams now lie in dust.
I created new itineraries where the sea does not exist.
I want to forget you like a sailor.
You are done loving me—
To abandon a love now lost in eternal flights.

“Irresistible Sins and Grace Irresistible”

There are some sins that are so irresistible and one must commit them passionately even though you will regret them later. You can always ask the good Lord for extended grace and generous forgiveness, what John Piper calls “future grace.” (Good People: this is bad theology. Don’t tell anyone you heard that from Doctor Lou who holds a PhD in Systematic Theology and Ethics.😂)

This week alone, I committed two deadly sins, and one of the same sins twice that goes against my dietary practice . I have not regretted them. In fact, it was delightful to do them. Both sins contradict and even revolt against my lactose intolerant immune system.

1. The sin of Nachos from Ms. Emily Danielle’s cuisine: Wiwi made me the most enticing, delicious, and incredibly tasty nachos twice this week. Both of them were full of cheese–I mean, generously cheesy. I mean it was quite a lot; Emily, my daughter-chef did not measure the amount of cheese she integrated into the recipe. No good father will ever say NO to a hard-working daughter 😊😊😊

2. The sin of Ice cream after the Lionel Richie’s concert: after we attended Lionel Richie’s concert last night, we went out to get some dessert. I craved the butter pecan ice cream. I ate the full scoop and wanted to have more. Lol

Please don’t ask me for more details about my stomach! Or how is it doing this morning? This is confidential information. Lol

Attached you will find the covers for the two forthcoming books you should anticipate from me in 2024. I came up with the concept/idea for both texts, invited a group of talented scholars and thinkers to contribute and collaborate with me (for which I am extremely grateful), and am currently serving as the general editor for both texts. In other words, these are my babies 😊

1. “Vodou and Christianity in Interreligious Dialogue” (@Wipf and Stock Publishers)

*This book is in its final stage of production. I just approved the final manuscript and sent it back to the typewriter and copywriter. The publisher will be working on indexing the book. Therefore, there’s a possibility this book might come out very soon: at the end of the year 2023. I am thankful to the renowned and brilliant French religious scholar Philippe Martin for writing the book’s foreword for us.

2. “Evangelicals, Catholics, and Vodouyizan in Haiti: The Challenge to Live Together” (@Bloomsbury Publishing)

*This book is currently undergoing the copyediting process. I will receive the proofs in four to five weeks from now. The publication date is May 2024.

*If the good Lord keeps me healthy, mentally stable, and intellectually steady, in the next five to ten years, I would like to write my final book on Haitian Vodou. It will be a different book than anything else I have written about Vodou. It will be a full theology of Haitian Vodou from a comparative religious and theological perspective. I would like to use a similar methodological approach as John Hick in his brilliant comparative theological approach to world religion in his book entitled “A Christian Theology of Religions: The Rainbow of Faiths” (1996). Tentatively, I am thinking about two titles: “Theologizing in Haitian Vodou: A Conceptual and Comparative Assessment” or simply “A Christian Theology of Vodou.”