Namibia Mulls Relaunch of Bible Classes in Schools to Counter ‘Moral Decay’

Well, what better answer is there to ‘moral decy’ (sin is what they actually should be calling it but won’t) than a return to the Word of God? In Namibia, as far as I know, Lutheranism is the major denomination. 

Namibia is considering reintroducing Bible studies in public classrooms in order to combat the rising problem of alcohol and drug abuse that some say is eroding the country’s moral values.

The Ondonga Traditional Authority (OTA) in Namibia said that it is time for the country to look back to its religious roots. Bible study has not been permitted in schools ever since the African country won independence and declared itself to be a secular state.

OTA Secretary Josef Asino has also called for a National Prayer Day that will look at the rising rates of violence inflicting the country, and consider how bringing back Bible study can help the nation’s youth learn about proper morals, website New Era Namibia reported Wednesday.

“At every second or third house, in most suburbs, there is a shebeen (liquor outlet) and in some cases, these shebeens – whether licensed or not – are set up in close proximity to schools and this is where most of the crimes are committed,” Asino said at the residence of the King of Ondonga Elifas Kauluma, during the visit of Minister of Information and Communication Technology Joël Kaapanda.

“Traditional Leaders are neither consulted nor involved in the process of formulating policies that have a direct bearing on their day to day activities. The institution of traditional believes and religion has been in existence since time immemorial and have survived many hardships under past colonial regimes,” he continued.

The OTA Secretary noted that Bostwana and South Africa also have very high numbers of liquor outlets, which he claimed has created many problems in those countries related to alcohol abuse, corruption, and passion killings.

“Our children do not have respect for the elderly anymore. There is a need for collective efforts to develop the interest of future generations about indigenous knowledge and the role of traditional leaders in our communities,” Asino added…

Read more here.

 

Falling Metallic Space Balls

A large metallic space ball fell out of the sky on a remote grassland in Namibia, prompting authorities to contact Nasa and the European space agency.

In the Telegraph:

The hollow ball, which has a circumference of 43 inches, was found near a village in the north of Namibia some 480 miles from the capital Windhoek, according to police forensics director Paul Ludik.

Locals had heard several small explosions a few days beforehand, he said.

With a diameter of 14 inches, the ball has a rough surface and appears to consist of “two halves welded together”.

It was made of a “metal alloy known to man” and weighed 13 pounds, said Ludik.

It was found 59ft from its landing spot, a hole one foot deep and 12ft wide.

Several such balls have reportedly dropped in southern Africa, Australia and Latin America in the past twenty years.

The sphere was discovered mid-November, but authorities first did tests before announcing the find.

Police deputy inspector general Vilho Hifindaka concluded the sphere did not pose any danger.

“It is not an explosive device, but rather hollow, but we had to investigate all this first,” he said.

 

Tokoloshe-Battling Priest Loses Appeal

Okay, if you must know, a Tokoloshe is an (mythic) evil, dwarf-like water sprite. They are considered to be very mischievous indeed.

So here’s some news from our neigbouring state (and by that I mean country for our American readers)…

An attempt to appeal against a High Court judgement that confirmed his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church over witchcraft allegations has ended in failure for former tokoloshe-battling priest Gert Petrus.

At every turn throughout his litigation with the Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Namibia, Father Petrus has failed to comply with court rules, Acting Judge of Appeal Kate O’Regan comments in the Supreme Court judgement in which an appeal by Petrus was struck from the court roll yesterday.

Judge O’Regan, with Judge of Appeal Sylvester Mainga and Acting Judge of Appeal Pius Langa agreeing with her, ordered that Petrus’s application for condonation for his late filing of an appeal to the Supreme Court was refused, his appeal was struck from the roll, and that he has to pay the legal costs of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese.

Petrus’s rift with his church’s leadership started in October and November 2004, when he claimed to have been the target of “witchcraft attacks” on himself.

After he had called on the special skills of Zimbabwean exorcists, an invisible demon was found in his parish residence, Petrus has claimed. The demon became visible after some salt water had been sprinkled over it, and he then had it destroyed by having it thrown into a fire, Petrus claimed.

The Church accused Petrus, who was ordained as a priest in 1986 and had been a parish priest in Khomasdal since 1993, of believing he had been bewitched by certain of his parishioners.

According to Petrus, three “objects of witchcraft” were “caught” on the premises of his church, St Mary’s Help of Christians Parish in Khomasdal, between October 28 and November 24 2004. When he then acted to have these forces of evil expelled from the church premises, he was trying to act against witchcraft, rather than participating in it, Petrus has stated.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese did not take kindly to the priest’s battle against evil, and informed him in a letter dated November 25 2004 that he had, through involvement “in the practice related to witchcraft”, excommunicated himself from the church…

There’s more here.

Perhaps he should have just left these little critters alone:

This Is Not A Painting

This is awesome!

What you’re looking at isn’t a painting. It’s not a Photoshop job or an artist’s rendering. It’s a photograph, taken by National Geographic‘s Frans Lanting, that captures the camel thorn trees of Namib-Naukluft Park at the most perfect moment imaginable.

Click the image to biggie size for the full effect. That orange backdrop? That’s a dune reflecting Namibia’s rising sun. And while the trees themselves look like etchings of a dream, they’re a very real part of one of the country’s largest national parks. It’s beautiful, it’s serene, it’s surreal. And it’s still almost impossible to believe that the only paintbrush used was nature’s.

I’ve been to that area frequently and the desolate landscape can indeed be spectacular!