“Abortion, Human Rights, Bodily Autonomy, and Rights of Women to Abortion (Part I)”

In this post, I would like to consider four issues in relation: abortion, human rights, bodily autonomy, and the rights of women to abortion. Toward this goal, I will make connection with three traditions: religion, the legal system, and secular humanism. I must say that women are bearers of life in this world. If women have the right to give life, do they have the same right not to give life (or to take life)?

Evidently, I am a man and came from a woman, my mother, and do not claim to represent the ideas of women on this issue; yet I am a husband to my spouse, a woman; a brother to three sisters; a father of two little girls; and a friend to many women. This conversation below is my first reflection (Part I) on the issue; it is my first draft on the sensitive topic of abortion. I would welcome your suggestions, comments, and your ideas on how to engage in meaningful conversations on the four issues addressed in this post.

1. Bodily Autonomy: Bodily autonomy is not just a right reserved for a woman who is carrying a child. Bodily autonomy is a universal human right since it upholds the sacredness of the human body regardless of sex and gender, pregnant or not pregnant, being able to conceive or not being able to conceive. Bodily autonomy is connected to the right, choice, and the freedom an individual has or must have over his or her own body. Bodily autonomy is also associated with human subjectivity and agency. What makes the human body sacred is not linked to laws or the ability of a woman to bear a child. Bodily autonomy is intimately linked to what it means to be human, and this shared humanity affirms that every person is a person, and every human has dignity.

For example, a young girl has bodily autonomy, and a little boy must have bodily autonomy. A non-pregnant woman has bodily autonomy just like a woman who is unable to conceive must have bodily autonomy. A person who is physically disable, both boys and girls, men and women, and pregnant and not pregnant, has bodily autonomy.

Finally, bodily autonomy does not mean or should not mean that a person can just make “autonomous” decisions without thinking about the potential effect the individual choice will have on the life of the community to which that individual belongs or a member. The choice of a person may appear individualistic, but in essence, it is not since all of us live in community and act, in most of the times, according to the philosophy, convictions, and ideals that bind the community together.

2. Human Rights: There are many rights that are connected to our shared humanity and the concept of personhood. Such rights might be deemed essential or fundamental to our common humanity, regardless of our sex and gender, or ability and disability in life. In other words, because human rights are essential to our shared humanity, they are not dependent upon our status—economic, political, religious, ethnicity, etc.—in life, or society.
   Rights are both individual and collective. For example, since John is a human being, John must have rights that affirm and maintain his humanity. John and Samantha share a common humanity as both male and female; therefore, they have collective human rights. Let’s think together about the following questions:

a) What makes a right a human right?
b) What are the human rights?
c) Who is a human?
d) What is a human?

All human rights are products of an agreement (a consensus) between individuals, authorities, institutions, representative groups, or a body of laws that are constructed within a system (i.e., economic, political, religious) and from the perspective of a philosophy of life and philosophy of the person and individuals. For example, from a religious perspective, almost all religious traditions affirm that the human life is sacred and therefore, prohibit the killing or murder of innocent people. From this angle, life is a human right, and the life of an individual is a human right. Hence, killing an innocent person is a violation of human right, and that murder is an act of dehumanization. Also, the religious belief that bans the killing of an innocent person defines human life as a right within this religious tradition; this same religious conviction makes human life sacred as a (convictional) right.

Human rights are also products of political consensuses and legislations. A human right becomes “legal” by a process of legislation. Human rights are legislated and legislative through a political consensus. If the law forbids the killing or murder of a person, —that is, the taking away the right to life of a human being or an individual—killing of an innocent individual will become an unlawful act. Accordingly, to murder an innocent person is not only an illegal gesture; it is an action against the law that makes illegal or unlawful the practice of (unjust) murder. In fact, the law makes murder the violation of a person’s right to life. In other words, the law not only sanctifies the life of a human; correspondingly, but it also upholds the sacredness of the life of an individual. From this perspective, human life as a right is defined as a legal conviction; to put it another way, the law (against murder) is what makes “rightful” life or what gives “human life” a legal standing.

So far, I have demonstrated how human rights are the result of various traditions, such as religion and legislation. Nonetheless, some people would argue which one of the entities (religion or the legislative branch) has primacy in defining human rights. This is perhaps one of the major issues surrounding the debate on abortion and the idea of women’s rights to abortion in the American society. For some religious people, all human rights are sacred and derivative of divine revelation. The life of an individual is a religious one because “God says so” in the Bible or “Allah affirms it” in the Qur’an. Certain religious people from various traditions—such as Muslims, Jews, Christians, Vodouizan, or Hinduists—would also affirm that the human life is a gift from God. Thus, no one has the right to take away the life of another person (i.e., an innocent individual) since the act of murder is an act against God or contrary to the divine order “Thou shall not murder.” (As a side note, I must say that non-theistic humanists or atheists have no obligations to abide to religious convictions or beliefs that make human life a right. They could find other ways or alternative to articulate their principles regarding the subject matter from a non-humanistic tradition. Yet the American society and Western societies, for example, are enmeshed in a religious framework that undergirds Western worldviews, including human convictions, beliefs, and actions—in the realm of the political, the religious, the ethical, the philosophical, what have you?)

By contrast, for others, human rights as a concept are not only rooted in political imaginations and legislative actions, but human rights should also not be viewed solely as a religious phenomenon. Since politics is integral to human existence and all areas of life, the concept of human life as a right is not only political; it is also legal. Interestingly, human life as right has become both religious and legal and is so regarded a religious practicality and a legal reality. Generally, within the sphere of the law, what it means to be human is linked to how the law defines it, and sometimes, this conviction is directly stated within certain body of laws; other times, it is implied in the legal code.

Correspondingly, being human might be regarded as a specific conception grounded on religious identity. For example, Jews, Christians, and Muslims believe that it is God/Yahweh/Allah who defines the essence of humanity and imputes dignity upon individuals and persons. Since their respective religious text declares affirmatively that “human beings are created in the image of God,” therefore, it is our shared link with the Creator-God that makes our life special, sacred, and rightful. In other words, the dignity of an individual is correlated with the dignity of God himself.

3. The Rights of Women to Abortion: all women and girls belong to the category identified above as “humanity.” All women and girls share a common humanity with all men and all boys. All women and girls have dignity, their life is sacred, and they are members of various human communities in society. All women and girls have human rights, and such rights are also constructed, from various traditions discussed in the previous analysis, and such rights are essential and fundamental to the concept of manhood and girlhood. Finally, such rights must be protected, defended, and maintained at all times—by the law and other human convictions (religious, moral, ethical, cultural, philosophical).

As already mentioned, the idea of bodily autonomy that is often argued in the defense of a woman’s right to have an abortion does not consider the idea of personhood universally applied to every human person regardless of his or her gender or sex, or status in life. Bodily autonomy is not sole property of women and girls; rather, bodily autonomy is a common characteristic shared by all people, both men and women, both boys and girls, and it is a type of freedom and human right that certifies our human dignity.
Certain advocates of women’s rights to abortion promote this slogan “Our bodies, our choice, our right.” They define the latter as a convictional belief and correlate the saying to the idea of (women’s) bodily autonomy. The question we should now ask in our conversation, as it pertains to the perspective on bodily autonomy, is this one: does a woman have a right and a choice to have an abortion? Let us look at different options:

A) From the perspective of bodily autonomy, women like men, do have a choice and right over their body, even to have an abortion. The demand here is for the law of the law to recognize, affirm, and maintain that choice and that right, respectively. Questions relating to religious, ethical, moral, and philosophical arguments against bodily autonomy and against a woman’s choice to have an abortion should be revisited. The underlying issue here is the legal protection of the right and the choice of women to abortion.

B) From a legal perspective (the Federal Government lawfully regards abortion as a choice and right for women) that warrants the right to abortion, women who commit the act of abortion are protected by the law; in other words, abortion is lawful or permissible by the law. Hence, if and when a woman commits an abortion, she is not in violation of any law.

C) From the perspective of those who believe that an abortion is the murder of an innocent unborn child, abortion is an act of violation of human right to life, that is, the life and right of the unborn child to live and exist. This position is framed within the belief that the unborn child is a person, and he or she is also a human being. This particular standing also lies in the convictional belief that the unborn child has human dignity and the choice (willing or unwilling) to abort the unborn child is an act of dehumanization and de-personification.

All the three options above (A, B, C) are premised upon our distinctive worldviews and convictional beliefs. Such convictions are also influenced by our religious beliefs, political ideologies and ideals, cultural traditions and practices, ethical and moral frameworks, and our idea what it means to be human in the world (our common humanity), to live in relation to one another (mutual reciprocity and accountability), and how-to live-in community (a form of social contract) with other individuals in society. In general, human beings are moral, ethical, cultural, and political entities, and as volitional agents, we act always according to such ways of life. Nonetheless, if an act is religious, it does not necessarily mean it is moral or ethical; in the same line of thought, if an act is legal or lawful, it does not necessarily convey it is also moral or ethical.

I am thinking from this point of view because morality has to do with right and wrong choices we make in life, and many people in our culture construe the act of aborting an unborn child or the act of not aborting an unborn child as a moral/immoral choice. What is interesting is the fact that many individuals establish an intimate rapport between morality and religion and believe that religion categorically informs our moral choices and ethical behaviors—both individual and collective. Another question we must also consider in this conversation is this: what about the individuals, such as non-theistic humanists and atheists, who divorce morality from religion, and find alternative ways and promising humanitarian principles to live a moral and ethical life—apart from religious morality? What do we do with those individuals? Some of those individuals are women who want to have a choice to have an abortion. They do not want that right to be taken away from them and from other women.

“A Call to STOP US Deportation of Haitians”

The ongoing gang violence, street kidnappings, and insecurity that have now become, for many people and human rights groups, a humanitarian crisis in Haiti. While the US Ambassador in Haiti and the Federal government publicly acknowledged the current predicament in Haiti, especially in Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince, the US Federal government and the US immigration services continue to deport Haitians to Haiti almost every week and month, as reported by many news outlets in Haiti and US news channels, correspondingly. More than 20, 000 Haitians have been deported to their native land since President Biden took office. This is unacceptable because such intervention from the US government is not effective and it not contributing to the common good and human flourishing in Haiti. It categorically denies Haitians the right and opportunity to seek refuge or asylum in the states. Also, such action on the part of the US government does not demonstrate any acts of compassion or empathy toward the Haitians who have fled Haiti because of political persecution, political crisis, and the current humanitarian crisis in Haiti. The Haitian people and their allies are asking for a fair treatment of undocumented Haitians in the United States and are asking the Federal government and the US Citizenship and Immigration services to STOP the deportation of Haitians. We are asking the Federal government and the US Immigration services to treat Haitians with dignity and to allow them to stay in the United States while the Haitian government and its allies are working diligently to reestablish political stability, peace, and put an end to gang violence and street kidnapping in the country.

As reported by many news outlets, at least five major areas in the capital city and elsewhere in Haiti have fallen (almost) completely into the hands of gangs, including popular neighborhoods such as Martissant, Cite de Dieu, Croix-des-Bouquets, Butte Boyer, Croix-des-Missions, Marecage, Mapou neighborhood, and some areas in Torcelle, and more recently La Plaine. Many people had to evacuate and left their homes. Gangs took over their homes. Schools and businesses in some of those areas remain closed. Some people describe the human condition in those places as “living in hell,” and that “our children has no future in Haiti.” Others have even called it “a war on poor Haitians.” As a result, many Haitians have fled the country and arrived in the shores of Miami by boat; unfortunately, before they are granted an opportunity to become “asylum seekers,” or receive a fair trial before a US immigration judge, they are automatically sent back to Haiti the moment they arrived in Florida or elsewhere in the country.

Further, according to a recent article published in Miami Herald, “Since June, armed groups have forced the displacement of over 20,000 Haitians from their homes in Martissant and surrounding communities.” Now, more people have been displaced because of the increasing escalation of gang violence. Here are some sources about this dire situation in Haiti:

1. “20 dead, thousands flee their homes as gangs battle in Haiti,” https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-04-28/20-dead-thousands-flee-homes-as-gangs-battle-in-haiti
2. “Chaos, gang violence again erupt in Haiti. Even human rights advocates are targets,” https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article260775917.html#storylink=cpy
3. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article260775917.html#storylink=cpy
4. https://lenouvelliste.com/article/235439/au-moins-20-civils-tues-dans-la-guerre-des-gangs-en-plaine-du-cul-de-sac
5. “The war between 400 Mawozo and Chen Mechan, a humanitarian and heritage disaster,”

La guerre entre 400 Mawozo et Chen Mechan, une catastrophe humanitaire et patrimoniale

We are calling upon humanitarian groups, human rights groups, friends of refugees, and friends of Haitians to come together to demand justice and a fair treatment for undocumented Haitians in the US and to stop deporting Haitians who are leaving Haiti because of political persecution, gang violence, and the humanitarian crisis in their country. This is not a moment to remain silent and be passive; let’s join forces to stop the deportation of Haitians.

Happy Haitian Heritage Month!

stopdeportingHaitians

“Future Books on Haitian Protestantism and the Current State of Religious Scholarship in Haiti “

I am very excited about the prospect of two forthcoming books in the English language that would deepen our knowledge and understanding of various segments or expressions of Haitian Protestantism in Haiti. I have a friend who is working on a book on (neo-)Pentecostalism in Haiti, and I am currently editing a book for Bloomsbury Publishing on the relationship between Haiti’s three major religious traditions: Protestant Evangelicalism, Catholicism, & Vodou. In this volume, I am fortunate to have as contributors some of the most important scholars who have written in English on Haitian Protestantism.

I am also editing another book for Wipf and Stock Publisher on interreligious dialogue between Vodouizan and Evangelical Christians in Haiti. Again, I am a happy guy to have as contributors a list of illustrious religious scholars on the subject matter.

***As a side note, allow me to say one or two more words on the subject matter: Contemporary scholarship on the religious experience of the Haitian people has given considerable attention to the Vodou religion, and that has been the case since the publication of Jean Price-Mars’ seminal book, “Ainsi Parla l’Oncle” (1928)/”Thus Spoke the Uncle.” I would call “l’Oncle” the inaugural text on Haitian Vodou Tradition or study. By contrast, Catts Pressoirs’ two volume work in the French language on Haitian Protestantism (“Le Protestantisme haitien,” 2 tomes, 1945) inaugurated contemporary scholarship on Haitian Protestantism. Interestingly, for many religious scholars in the English language, it is Charles Poisset Romain’s celebrated text, “Le Protestantisme dans la société haïtienne”/”Protestantism in Haitian Society” (1986) that is considered the “classic text” on the subject matter.

*A little interesting fact most people do not pay attention to or probably do not care to know is that those (the majority) who have written the most important works on the religious experience and expressions of the Haitian people are not academically trained religious scholars or theologians; they are anthropologists, ethnologists, historians, sociologists, literary scholars, etc., who have made substantial contributions in the field of religious study and Christian scholarship in Haiti.

As a last note, religious scholars, theologians, and other specialists on the subject matter need to explore other contemporary religious dimensions of the Haitian people; for example, some of the emerging (slowly growing) religious traditions in the Haitian society include the Baháʼí Faith, Islam, Rastafarianism, New Age, etc. Thanks to Dr. Bertin Louis for giving us the most important work on Haitian Protestantism in the Diaspora: “My Soul Is in Haiti: Protestantism in the Haitian Diaspora of the Bahamas” (NYU, 2016). Yet there are few studies in English on the diasporic dimensions of Haitian Protestantism in the United States, what Bertin calls “Haitian Transnational Protestantism.” I can make the same claim for lack of scholarship or studies on Haitian Catholicism in the English language.

#mayishaitianheritagemonth

Happy Friday, Good People! Friday is for those who dream of a better Monday, and those who continue to make life in this world beautiful and worth living.

I worked on this new piece for three hours last night and twenty minutes this morning. I called my nightly musings “Every Smile is Gold.” Hope you’ll like it, or it will make sense to you 🙂

“Every smile is Gold”

Every smile is gold.
The warmth of your hug turns into memory,
that will stop the pain,
wiping away tears of sadness of the past.
Your shadow crosses mine,
causing love and life to knit together.
We walk side by side.
Dancing, it is true,
Screaming, it will be till the end of time.
When summer leaves fall in the gentle night,
our hearts are touched by a monarch butterfly.
We found love in the most unexpected place.

Every smile is gold.
Blue diamonds light the night,
the sun comes shining through
guiding the path for love to bright.
Crossing the oceans to be where you are,
to love you from afar.
I take ink and pencil
to sketch images to be remembered,
to draw bundle of smiles that will never fade.
I create a plot of endless joy,
inspired by the movements of your eyes.
The two of us…
building a home
always days to see
a place to call our own.

Every smile is gold.
The two of us,
to grow in maturity and fidelity,
our spirit will be the rainfall,
causing the soil of lovers’ souls to grow tall
our wisdom of old age,
sustaining peace this season of life,
where love language will make the day.
Every move your mouth to speak
lovers let your words step to the street
every lover’s passion,
hooked to your soul.
You make people see with their ears.

A Few Good Reasons to Celebrate 🎉 Today!

1. I cleaned up my garage. This is a great achievement, folks!

I am very proud of myself after doing it at least hundred times. Now, my back is hurting me 😃

Are there any chiropractors or message therapists in the house? 😂 😂 😂

2. I officially posted online the final grades for all my spring classes.
   Somebody, please bring me a bottle of Haitian Pepsi or a bottle of Barbancourt rhum💃 🍷 🎉
3. I submitted my evaluations of two well-written, brilliant, and well-researched manuscripts to two prestigious academic publishers. The first manuscript is on Black Studies, Police Violence, and Critical Race Theory. The second manuscript is on foreign policy, environmental crisis, and Women’s rights and functions in the Haitian society.
4. I delivered a paper at a symposium on Saturday on the significance for the church to engage in politics and on the emergence of Liberation Theology movement (s) in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Haiti. I emphasized the historic role of the Council of Haitian Episcopal Bishops in the struggle for social and political justice and the promotion of human dignity and rights.

**This is an excerpt from my forthcoming book on the politico-theological ideas of Jean-Bertrand Aristide: “Aristide: A Political and Theological Introduction” (Fortress Press).

5. I will get some rest this week before I begin teaching summer classes next week.

Have an awesome Monday, Good People!

My Summer 2022 Reading List!

I enjoy reading widely, interdisciplinarily, or across the disciplines. People read for different reasons and reading coincides with the reader’s interest and disposition. My reasons for reading also vary. I read because I am intellectually curious and take pleasure in reading.  As an intellectual adventure, I read to learn so I can teach others and write with authority and rhetorical clarity and precision. Along this line of thought, I read to explore different worlds; to be exposed to different epistemologies and worldviews; to learn different perspectives about human ideas and actions; and to understand and know how people live, think, and interact with each other in the world. Reading allows me to travel intellectually and mentally to various places or locations where my body cannot go or where I cannot reach physically. Reading teaches me (and even forces me) how to have a disciplined life and to organize the life of the mind.

Usually, my book selection is from the Humanities (i.e., history, literature, religion, theology, anthropology). For summer 2022, I would like to improve my knowledge and understanding of the field of the natural sciences, which is divided into two distinct branches: life science and physical science, including biology, astronomy, chemistry, earth sciences, and physics. It is my pleasure to share with you my summer 2022 reading list; it includes eleven books this year: two books on human biology and chemistry; three books on physics and astronomy; one book on gender and religion (i.e., Biblical and Theological Studies); two books on literature/fiction (i.e., novels); one book on the history of the Bible in the United States; one book on (Evangelical) Christianity and the American culture; and one book on the relationship between Christianity and African-based religions in the Diaspora (i.e. the Caribbean Region).

1. “Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries” by Neil deGrasse Tyson
2. “The Body: A Guide for Occupants” by Bill Bryson
3. “The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred” by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
4. “Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe” by Robert Lanza with Bob Berman
5. “The World According to Physics” by Jim Al-Khalili
6. “Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth: A Novel” by Wole Soyinka
7. “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois” by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
8. “The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth” by Beth Allison Barr
9. “Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation” by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
10. “Les religions afro-caribéennes à la lumière de la foi chrétienne : Similitudes et différences ” by Dieumeme Noelliste and Mirlenda Noelliste
11. “America’s Book: The Rise and Decline of a Bible Civilization, 1794-1911” by Mark A. Noll

I usually begin my summer reading in the first week of May. Suppose I do not complete my reading list in the summer season, I would attempt to finish reading the books in the fall semester.
I want to close this post with a question: Have you created your summer reading list yet?

*** Next week, I will share my recommended reading list for young people so they can enjoy some good books during this summer. Let us travel the world together through books and reading!

#Summer2022readinglist

#Happyreading

#Thepleasureofreading

“On Being an Immigrant: The Paradoxes and Advantages of a Multilingual Immigrant Writer and Multicultural Scholar”

The language I speak fluently is Kreyòl (some people prefer calling it “Haitian”), but with a Kapwa (Northern) accent. 😃

The language I write more comfortably in is English.

The language I understand with no hesitation is Kreyòl.

The language I am still trying to understand is French.

The language that will save me in time of trouble is more than one: Kreyòl, English, and French– in that order.

*I never try to be someone else that I am not, and I do not conflict my (primary) identity as a Haitian immigrant–though for many people, the immigrant identity is complex, constantly evolving, and in a state of mutation because of the process of encountering multiple cultures, ethnic groups, languages–living in a country (the U.S.A.) that welcomes me; yet its systems and structures force immigrants like me to assimilate in order to belong, achieve success, and even be recognized as a human being.

*Generally, (Haitian) linguists have proposed different pedagogical and linguistic models to help solve the language crisis in education in Haiti. The first proposal is to teach and educate Haitian school children in Kreyòl only. The second proposal is to find a balance between Kreyòl and French, Haiti’s two official languages, in the education and training of Haitian children. The third model is to improve the linguistic ability and fluency capability of Haitian children in the French language by emphasizing its full acquisition in Haiti’s schools. The final model is to expose Haitian school children to multiple languages, such as Kreyòl (the mother tongue), French, Kreyòl, Spanish, and English, in the acquisition process and linguistic fluency. While each one of the linguistic models and pedagogical approaches has its own advantages and disadvantages, I would suggest to maximize the Kreyòl language and to fully integrate the mother tongue of the Haitian people in schools and institutions in Haiti while not undermining the significance of global languages such as English, French, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Swahili, etc.in the education system in Haiti. Various studies by linguists and second language specialists have demonstrated that children have the ability/capability to learn multiple languages simultaneously. On the other hand, the Haitian education system has many shortcomings. It’s not doing an effective job in educating and training school children even in their maternal language; the education in the French language is not also effective in Haiti.

Happy Saturday, Good People!

#IAmAnImmigrant

I wrote a new poem and gave it a name “Love without a name”

“Love without a name”

Smiling stars fell down on earth
touched your heart and mine,
and united us as one.
Angels travelled 500 miles on bikes,
in the rain to witness a love without a name,
a feeling not bound by time,
nor by human limitation
A happy moon embraced us tenderly,
without care and hesitation.

Smiling stars fell down on earth
to give our life a fresh start.
Floating galaxies migrated to where love is king,
the place passion is queen.
Reading our palm, they sealed our destiny,
the way the Divine conceives it.
You are the moon of the future
I am the sun of the present.
You, the protector of my garden,
I, the candle of life.
We are the infinity with no constraints,
loyal love of spring bloom.

Smiling stars fell down on earth
to witness our union
eternity became half
our feet moved forward
one step, two steps,
one hundred dancers in the ballroom,
and two became one.
Life is behind us,
delighting in the lust of our flesh.
These two, united together, became a world.
The moment stood still,
no idea about the hurdles ahead of us
It is love without a name.

I wrote a new poem and gave it a name “Love without a name”

“Love without a name”

Smiling stars fell down on earth
touched your heart and mine,
and united us as one.
Angels travelled 500 miles on bikes,
in the rain to witness a love without a name,
a feeling not bound by time,
nor by human limitation
A happy moon embraced us tenderly,
without care and hesitation.

Smiling stars fell down on earth
to give our life a fresh start.
Galaxies migrated to where love is king,
the place passion is queen.
Reading our palm, they sealed our destiny,
the way the Divine conceives it.
You are the moon of the future
I am the sun of time.
You, the protector of my garden,
I, the candle of life.
We are the infinity with no constraints,
loyal love of spring bloom.

Smiling stars fell down on earth
to witness our union
eternity became half
our feet moved forward
one step, two steps,
one hundred dancers in the ballroom,
and two became one.
Life is behind us,
delighting in the lust of our flesh.
These two, united together, became a world.
The moment stood still,
no idea about the hurdles ahead of us
It is love without a name.

one hundred dancers in the ballroom,
and two became one.
Life is behind us,
delighting in the lust of our flesh.
These two, united together, became a world.
The moment stood still,
no idea about the hurdles ahead of us
It is love without a name.

“Haiti’s Pact with the Devil: The Human Sacrifice at Bois Caiman Vodou Ceremony and the Evangelical Interpretation”

I believe the idea of “pact” in Haitian history has two aspects: one is spiritual; the other is non-spiritual. I believe the African slaves made a “non-spiritual but a historical pact” (they came to a consensus and made a decisive determination) with each other to end slavery and to be freed from colonialism and slavery. The spiritual pact is a complex one because it is based primarily on oral traditions (I am not saying that oral traditions are not reliable or should not be trusted), and it is not easy to verify the historical credibility of the spiritual pact.

Interestingly, the spiritual pact has been interpreted differently in Haiti’s religious communities. Haitian Vodouizan have their own interpretation, and Haitian Protestants/Evangelicals have their own. For example, I have heard from many Haitian Christians and pastors while travelling on mission trips to Haiti that the Africans made a pact with the devil at the Bois Caiman event (This is not just a Pat Robertson’s declaration!) I have a cousin of mine who is a Christian Pastor in Haiti; one day he said to me “Toutou”/”Puppy” (That is my nickname”), you do know our ancestors made a pact with the devil. He said that to me in more than one occasions while I was in Haiti visiting my family and friends. He also said that Jean-Baptiste Vixamar LeGrand was the sacrifice at the Bois Caiman event of August 1791. He also believes there was also a pig sacrifice at Bois Caiman, but Vixamar was the real, historical, and most important sacrifice to Haiti’s Vodou lwa.

I have also heard from many other Haitian Christian pastors and lay people, both in Haiti and the Haitian Diaspora, that the African slaves made a pact with the devil. In fact, in 2016, my wife and I were at a Christian service (Sunday morning) at a local church in Fort Pierce (Florida) where we live. The “guest preacher” on that Sunday was a Haitian pastor from Haiti, whom I personally know. In his sermon, he declared that the Africans made a pact with the devil, and that Haitian Christians need to take Haiti back to God. The whole church shouted Amen. My wife and I looked at each other and got very angry. I wanted to leave the service at that moment, but my wife encouraged me to stay. So, I submitted to her will. Interestingly, the incident took place at a “white church” that supports this particular pastor’s work/ministry in Haiti.

I have heard the story of the “human sacrifice” at Bois Caiman from the lips of many prominent Haitian Hougan and Mambo, and Free Maxons (i.e., BILOLO KONGO, Toussaint Lova, MALOLO KABA) that the African slave “Jean-Baptiste Vixamar LeGrand” voluntarily gave himself up to be sacrificed in other for the slaves at Saint-Domingue to be free and independent. In other words, Vixamar is the “Christ” of the Bois Caiman Event or the Haitian Revolution itself. For those who are interested in the human sacrifice at Bois Caiman, check out these selected videos below:

1. LE JESUS CHRIST HAITIEN (JEAN BAPTISTE VIXAMAR), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC5TryBiiDw
2. Jn Baptiste Vixamar Legrand. Le Cochon du bois kay Inman, https://youtu.be/MTDPl8_rXQM
3. Reyalité sou Jan Batis Viksama LeGran é Chalmay Peral/Reyalité sou Duvalier, https://youtu.be/vDu0f8ZwnPc

Essay (s)

“La cérémonie du Bois Caïman: les grandes phases de la construction d’un fait historique” by Clermont Maudler, https://www.academia.edu/11760326/La_c%C3%A9r%C3%A9monie_du_Bois_Ca%C3%AFman_les_grandes_phases_de_la_construction_dun_fait_historique

***There are other interviews in which Vodouizan made the explicit claim about Vixamar as the “sacrifice” at Bois Caiman.

“What Christians Believe: Some Basic Elements about the Resurrection of Jesus”

For many individuals, the resurrection of Jesus is a myth just like the Greco-Roman myths of old. Others see it as a religious fable, a folktale, an invention of the early Christians such as Peter, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, etc. Other critics state that Jesus is a creation of the early Christians and that there was no historical person named Jesus the way Christians present him to the world or talk about the existence of a real Jesus in the Bible and church traditions.

By contrast, for Christians around the world, Jesus was not only existed as a human being; he is present or real in their life today. The majority of Christians around the world also believe the resurrection of Jesus is one of the top historical pieces of evidence that proves the existence of God, and comparatively, they believe the physical resurrection of Jesus is what makes Christianity what it is, that is, its association with Jesus’ divine origin and same nature as Yahweh, the creator God of the universe and all human beings. In this non-technical post, I would like to reflect upon some basic elements about the resurrection and what the majority of Christians believe about it.

1. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS WAS PHYSICAL. According to the Bible, the traditions of the Christian church, and the followers of the individuals who knew Jesus and walked with him while he was alive, Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the grave. They believed that the act of raising from the tomb was not a spiritual resurrection; rather, it was a physical resurrection.
2. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS WAS HISTORICAL. The resurrection of Jesus is presented as a historical event. According to many individuals who knew Jesus before his death, this same Jesus who was crucified, dead, buried, and resurrected showed himself to them on the third day. They also said that the resurrected Jesus talked to them, allowed them to touch his body, appeared to many individuals who are known as eyewitnesses, and even ate with them in group. These same individuals stated that the resurrected Jesus was not a ghost, an angel, a spiritual being, or an illusion. According to their reports, the resurrected Jesus was a real person, a human being with physical features and bodily parts.
3. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS WAS SUPERNATURAL. These same individuals also declared that the resurrection of Jesus was both a historical event and a faith-based event. By the integrating the idea of “faith” in their understanding of the physical resurrection of Jesus, they believed that God worked a miracle, that is, something extraordinary and unnatural, by raising Jesus from the dead by his power. In other words, they established a relationship between faith and divine power, physical resurrection and divine miracle. This kind of faith is not historical, but supernatural; yet the historicity of the physical resurrection required a supernatural intervention. In other words, faith in a God that can raise people from the dead validated the physical resurrection of Jesus–a human being. God raised Jesus from the dead by his power!
4. Thus, the resurrection of Jesus means and accomplishes many things.

a) First, it demonstrates that God can use his power effectively to do the unexpected, such as bringing to life a dead person, for example, Jesus who was also dead but God raised him from the dead; Lazarus, Jesus’ friend, who was also dead, but God through Jesus raised him from the dead.

b) Second, the resurrection also shows that all religious beliefs require human connection with the divine, as well as the proximity or presence of God with human beings. God is not far from us; he is near and present where human beings are present or live.

c) Third, the resurrection is a supernatural phenomenon that invites reasonable faith and belief in a powerful God.

d) Finally, the resurrection shows the fragility of human nature and the weakness of human beings. According to Christian belief in the resurrection, because God is not a human being, he is strong and has power over death and the forces of darkness.

5. These same individuals in the Bible (the New Testament), the first Christians, and early church reports and traditions constructed a new understanding of Jesus and his identity. What did they say exactly about Jesus’ identity and his deeds after the resurrection.

a) The writers of the New Testament and the early Christian thinkers and writers (i.e. church fathers) reinterpreted the teachings and deeds of Jesus in light of his new identity and in connection to the significance of the historical resurrection.

b) They believed because God raised Jesus from the dead, God also approved the teachings and works of Jesus while he was alive. In other words, Jesus was a man attested by God. The resurrection was a sign of divine satisfaction about the life and person of Jesus of Nazareth. God was pleased about Jesus’ character and how Jesus lived, treated people, and taught people about God.

c) Because of the resurrection, they exalted Jesus to a divine status and believed that Jesus was the “Anointed One,” the Jewish Messiah. Yet these same individuals gave a divine identity to the Jewish Messiah whom they said was Jesus.

d) Because of the resurrection, the early Christians worshipped Jesus the Christ the same way they used to worship God/Yahweh, and used divine titles and attributes they traditionally applied to Yahweh to Jesus.

e) Because of the resurrection, they began to read/reread more carefully about what Jesus really said before his death and investigated the supernatural connection of his sayings and works, such as his miraculous and exorcist activities, with the works and sayings of God of the Hebrew Scriptures/Yahweh.

f) As a result, they said only a God-like person could perform such supernatural works and say things only God could say. Yet these same individuals argued that while Jesus was fully human, he was more than a super hero; in fact, they believed that Jesus was God himself (they did not say it like that though. They used different literary techniques, technical concepts, writing strategies, and ideological concepts to establish Jesus’ divine origin) For example, before his death, the writers of the New Testament and early church fathers wrote many things about Jesus, including the following:

1. Jesus offered people eternal life and salvation; he forgave people’s sins;
2. Jesus said that God was his father and he was the Son of God–not in the sense that God was his biological son, but in the sense of he possessing the same nature like God or at least, having a direct connection with God like no other human being on earth–, making himself the Son of God;
3. Jesus said that he and God are one–not in the sense that God is in all of us or God’s presence is forever with human beings–; rather, Jesus was declaring that he possessed the same divine identity like God and like God, he is also God;
4. Jesus calmed heavy winds and told people exactly what was in their hearts. There are many other things the writers of the New Testament and church traditions said Jesus did and said. I have to be selective in this post.

However, both ancient and modern magicians and religious prophets do/did quite a few things like Jesus, and even make/made similar declarations like Jesus. What makes Jesus different than these miracles workers, houngan, mambo, magicians, medicine men? According to the writers of the New Testament and the writings of the church fathers, there were at least five things:

1. The physical resurrection of Jesus sealed the messianic identity and divine origin of Jesus. According to the Gospel and ecclesiastical traditions, the resurrection established the deity of Jesus and proved that Jesus existed as God before he became a human being. This is called the doctrine of the pre-existence of Christ in Christian theology.
2. Jesus’ exclusive and absolute claims of his divine origin or essence, having the same nature and equal power with God to forgive sin and raise people from the dead, and to save people from sins and give them eternal life.
3. Jesus’ exclusive claim that he is the “only way” to God. Jesus’ exclusive claim he is “the truth” and “life” itself. Jesus’ exclusive claim that he is the resurrection and life, and that he existed before Abraham was born.
4. The recognition of Jesus of his divine status and messianic self-consciousness linked to his messianic mission as God’s special emissary in the world.
5. Jesus’ own prophecy about his death, burial, and resurrection.
6. Jesus transforms people’s lives and make individuals better citizens and human beings.

Conclusion: Whether you believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus, Jesus’ deity, or doubted the historical existence of the historical Jesus, it matters how you live your life in the moment and the time to come. Your choice is a personal one. For many Christians, however, the resurrection of Jesus secures their hope in the time to come and guarantees their salvation in God. Christians believe that the resurrection is the gift for all people just like Jesus is God’s universal gift to humanity.

Happy Resurrection Day!

“3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born…

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 12-19, 55-56