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.”

Theology and Philosophy in Conversation on Human Flourishing

I would like to research and eventually write a book to investigate comparatively how various religious traditions, such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Yoruba religion; theological schools, such as liberation theology, black theology, reformed theology, feminist theology, and process theology; and major philosophical schools, such as existentialism, German idealism, American pragmatism, and empiricism talk about the way to the common good and human flourishing in the world.

“Lonely Lakes Flow”


To the fountain of love
Summer waves change the mood
Lonely lakes flow
To the fountain of love
Summer waves change the mood
He whispers softly to the coloured lights
‘I choose to trust’
He takes her to the deepest ocean to make her feel his love


The water will show her his vastness and depth
A thousand roses is not enough to measure their time
Sweet melodies like honey drips into the cracks
He sings a song only she can hear
They find the most beautiful moments in the sea
A dream-like haze into another universe
A love that echoes fervently into another dimension

Let it be
Waves
Love in movement
where hearts share a cosmic dance
Bodies and words collide
Surrendering to a slavish degree
Like a heart that needs a beat
Experiencing the freedom of being
Clinging to the everlasting portion.

“Love in fragmented pieces”

Although separated, we are still connected.
Although living afar, we are close to our stars.
We have the same vibration:
Your heart in my heart,
My spirit in your breath.
In my inner being, the echo is your voice.
Echoes of our hearts I still hear,
and I am still searching…where our paths first intertwined.
You are the poet who creates love in fragmented pieces.
I am the language through which you make me feel high.
You are the verb that nourishes our intimate labor.

You are my first fruit, my resting place charged with untamed energy.
They say, “She is the Frantoio olive that lights up with white blooms
in your eternal summer.”
We consecrate the commitment with a kiss.
To you, I make a promise for a lifetime of stability.
We are inextricably bound to our freedom to love, to heal,
and to carry together the weight of the star.
To dream of a world held in high esteem with you…
pleasurable experiences and joyful raptures with you..

I am your burning war of passion.
You offer a bottomless well of trust and strength that revitalizes me.
You can’t run away forever from what your heart desires.
I may not always love you the way I should,
but you will never have to doubt my sincerity.
I want to hurry home to you to tell you this:
“I will make you so proud of our young, summer love.”

You are a little mystery that walks into my life,
and I am evolving with you.
I have missed you for so long, for a thousand years in my past.
I will say a little prayer for you,
and make a deal with God: to keep you safe,
to shield you from the pain of denial and loneliness,
and to imagine the future with loving eyes.
You and I have a hold on right from the start—
a grip so tight and so strong we should not tear apart.

“The Experience of a Young Immigrant”

After I graduated from High School in 1997 or 1996, I wanted to be financially independent because I never liked asking my mom or dad for money. I wanted to get a better job than being a bagger at Winn Dixie or an Auto Parts Specialist at Discount Auto Parts. I also wanted to get paid more money than what I was getting paid at Winn Dixie as a stocker while taking classes in College.

As a result, I drove my little car to Miami for about three or four days that last week in March 1997–from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to get my education or training to be certified as a security guard (“Basic Private Security School” ). I successfully completed my training on March 31, 1997 (26 years ago) and obtained my license by the State of Florida.

***In fact, I got my first job at 16 years old at Winn Dixie and worked there as a bagger and stocker. I saved my money for about two years and bought my first car: a Green 1997 Toyota Tercel. I was able to save $3000 in two years to buy that car. That was the greatest achievement in my life as an 18-year-old man. I didn’t want any financial assistance from my parents. I worked hard and sometimes I asked the manager to allow me to work overtime as a 16/17 year-old young man. He was gracious enough to honor my request.

I worked hard.
I saved all the money I made.
I bought my car on my own without my parents’ assistance.
I remember both my parents and older siblings were proud of me, and I was proud of myself–even until today. I never believed in free lunch as a young Haitian immigrant. My parents have taught me education was the key and work was my dignity.

When I came to the United States at 15 years old from Haiti, my father said three things to me and my older brother:

1. Stay in school

2. Don’t hang out with the bad crowd

3. Education is your key to success .

We both believed him and actually committed ourselves to pursue an education wholeheartedly. My father was right.

“Help Me Choose the Book Cover”

I have two new books coming out in the new year 2024, between January and May. The first one is called “Vodou and Christianity in Interreligious Dialogue” (Wipf and Stock Publishers), and the second one is titled “Evangelicals, Catholics, and Vodouyizan in Haiti: The Challenges to Live Together” (Bloomsbury Publishing).

Both texts focus on the imperative of interreligious dialogue and education to (1) help strengthen the democratic life in Haiti, (2) foster a more liveable and hospitable civil and political societies, and (3) promote more rights and freedoms between Haiti’s three major religious expressions: Vodou, Catholic Christianity, and Protestant Christianity.

I have the pleasure to serve as the lead editor for both books. I even crafted the ideas behind both texts and invited a series of talented scholars and thinkers to make their distinctive contributions towards the philosophy and objectives of both book projects. If there’s anyone to blame, I will take the blame. 😊

Good People: we have already chosen the book cover for the first volume, which I have shared with you back in June. Now, I would like you to help me choose the cover for the second book: “Evangelicals, Catholics, and Vodouyizan: The Challenges to Live Together” (Bloomsbury Publishing).

Which cover do you like?

“Who sings “Je l’aime à mourir” (“I love her to death”) better/best, Françis Cabrel, Shakira, or Jacques Sauveur Jean?”

Shakira sings the song (the bilingual edition: Spanish and French) “Je l’aime à mourir” (“I love her to death”) better than the famous French singer-songwriter Françis Cabrel (he is one of my favorite artists of all time) who composed the song in 1979 (Man, I was only a one-year-old baby boy. lol). When he released the album in 1979, it is reported more than 600,00 copies were sold in France only.

In 2011, Shakira performed both “La Quiero a Morir” and “Je l’aime à mourir” live in Paris. Here is her rendition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92tkZQB-Uj4

*Her blue dress is gorgeous and quite stunning. 🙂 🥰❤️

Jacques Sauveur Jean even did a better job than Cabrel and Shakira in the bilingual rendition in French and Creole. He added a little Caribbean flavor (Haitian Konpa) to it. He recorded the song in studio in 2007.

Jackito, “Je l’aime à mourir”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO7N61mUzmk

Here is Françis Cabrel singing the original song in 1979 (“Je l’aime à mourir”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soPhiV2epM0

Here are the most beautiful lines from the song:

Elle a gommé les chiffres
Des horloges du quartier
Elle a fait de ma vie
Des cocottes en papier
Des éclats de rire
Elle a bâti des ponts
Entre nous et le ciel
Et nous les traversons
À chaque fois qu’elle
Ne veut pas dormir
Je l’aime à mourir…

Elle a dû faire toutes les guerres
Pour être si forte aujourd’hui
Elle a dû faire toutes les guerres
De la vie, et l’amour aussi

Vous pouvez détruire
Tout ce qu’il vous plaira
Elle n’aura qu’à ouvrir
L’espace de ses bras
Pour tout reconstruire
Pour tout reconstruire
Je l’aime à mourir

[She erased the numbers
From the clocks in the neighborhood
She turned my life
Into paper dolls
Bursts of laughter
She built bridges
Between us and the sky
And we cross them…

She must have fought all the wars
To be so strong today
She must have fought all the wars
Of life, and of love too
She lives her best

You can destroy
Whatever you like
She will only have to open
The space of her arms
To rebuild everything
I love her to death.]

***That is exactly what happens to me or what I do on Facebook whenever I have too much time on my hands. lol