Doctor Mama Amon
JF-Expert Member
- Mar 30, 2018
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Papa Francis akiwa mimbari
I. USULI
Kitu kinachowaunganisha wanajumuiya ni imani ya pamoja kuhusu vitu vinavyoonekana na visivyoonekana (belief), kanuni za kimaadili zenye kutamka miongozo na miiko kuhusiana na matendo binafsi na matendo ya pamoja wakati wa kutekeleza ajenda ya pamoja (norms) na tunu zinazotoa msingi wa matumani ya wanajumuiya (values).
Katika Ukristo, Imani inatamkwa katika Kanuni ya Imani ya Mitume, kanuni za maadili zinatamkwa katika Amri Kumi za Musa, na Matumani ya Wakristo yanatamkwa katika Sala ya Baba Yetu. Kwa ufupi, hicho ndicho kitako, kimo na kiegama cha itikadi asilia ya Ukristo (Christian worldview).
Kwa miaka 2000 sasa vikao mbalimbali vyamakanisa anwai ya Kikristo vimekuwa vikifanyika ili kufafanua, kutetea na kulinda mambo haya matatu. MItaguso ilitumika zamani. Lakni, siku hizo sinodi ni kikao cha aina mojawapo kwa ajili hii ndani ya Kanisa Katoliki.
Sinodi ya 16 ya Maaskofu Katoliki inaendelea tangu 10 Oktoba 2021, na itahitimishwa Oktoba 2023, huko Roma.
Tayari dodoso la kukusanya maoni ya walei na makleri limeshatolewa na kusambazwa maparokiani duniani kote. Dodoso lina maswali 51, moja likiwa swali kuu. Kwa kuzingatia ukweli huu, katika aya zifuatazo nafanya yafuatayo:
- Najadili dhamira na swali kuu la dodoso;
- Naorodhesha maswali madogo 50 ya dodoso;
- Najibu swali namba 50 katika dodo hili;
- Nadadavua dhana ya itikadi (worldview) kama zana muhimu kwa ajili ya kutusaidia kujibu dodoso kwa ufahasa;
- Natumia dhana hii kwa kufananisha na kutofautisha itikadi kuu tulizo nazo (worldview comparisons and contrasts);
- Naonyesha maeneo ya kiitikadi yapatayo 50 yenye mikanganyiko ya kimantiki (logical contradictions) na/au mikanganyiko ya kimetafizikia (metaphysical contradictions), mikanganyiko ambayo ni miongoni mwa sababu kuu za kusababisha mmomonyoko wa Kanisa Katoliki, kwa maana ya kuzalisha "Wakatoliki wastaafu"; na
- Hatimaye nahitimisha kwa kutoa mapendekezo kadhaa nikiwaalika wajibu dodoso kutumia ya dhana ya itikadi (worldview) kama nyenzo muhimu kwa ajili ya kuchuja na kutofautisha kati ya pumba za itikadi duni na mchele wa itikadi bora.
II. UTANGULIZI
Milenia mbili zilizopita ilizaliwa dini ya Ukristo, mara tu baada ya habari za ufufuko wa Yesu wa Nazareth kuenea Yerusalemu, na baadaye dunia nzima.
Na sasa dini ya Ukristo ni itikadi (worldview) inayokabiliwa na ushindani mkubwa kutoka kwenye itikadi mbadala kama vile Uislamu, Ubuda, Uhindu, Ukonfuchio, Ukomunisti wa Marx, Ukanamungu, Uliberali, Usekulari, na Usayansi.
Tangu wakati huo hadi leo Ukristo kupitia Madhehebu ya Katoliki umekuwa na utaratibu wa kufanya Mkutano wa Juu Kabisa wa kitaasisi uitwao Mtaguso (Council).
Ni kama ambavyo Anual General Meeting (AGM) huwa ni Mkutano wa Juu Kabisa wa Kampuni au Azaki.
Kwa mujibuwa tovuti maarufu ya Kikatoliki iitwayo New Advent, tayari mitaguso 21 ifuatayo imefanyika, miaka yake ya kufanyika ikiwa kwenye mabano hapa chini:
Nikea I (325); Konstantinopoli I(381); Efeso (431); Chalsedoni (451); Konstantinopoli II (553); Konstantinopoli III (680-681); Nikea II (787); MKonstantinopoli IV (869); Laterani I (1123); Laterani II (1139); Laterani III (1179); Laterani IV (1215); Layoni I(1245); Layoni II (1274); Vienna (1311-1313); Konstansia (1414-1418); Florensi (1431-1439); Laterani V (1512-1517); Trent (1545-1563); Vatikano I (1869-1870) na Vatikano II (1962-1965).
Kila Mtaguso ulikuwa na ajenda yake mahsusi. Kwa mfano, Mtaguso wa Trent (1545-1563) ulilenga kujibu mapigo dhidi ya Mafundisho ya Mtawa wa KIjerumani Martin Luther aliyeanzisha Kanisa Jipya la Kilutheri duniani.
Mtaguso wa II wa Vatikano ndio ulianzisha utaratibu wa Kanisa zima kukutana kwa njia ya Sinodi katika ngazi ya Kanda, Bara na hata Dunia nzima kwa ajili ya mashauriano juu ya masuala muhimu ya Kikanisa.
Tayari zimefanyika sinodi 15 tangu 1965. Na sasa Sinodi ya 16 ya Maaskofu Katoliki Duniani inaendelea tangu ilipozinduliwa na Papa Francis tangu 10 Oktoba 2021 huko Roma.
Sinodi ya 16, itakayofanyika kwa miaka mitatu mfululizo, tangu 2021 hadi 2023, inanogeshwa na kauli mbiu isemaayo “Kwa Ajili ya Kanisa la Kisinodi: Umoja, Ushiriki na Utume.”
Sinodi hii itahitimishwa Oktoba 2023 huko huko Roma, baada ya Papa atakayekuwepo wakati huo kupokea maoni ya walei, makasisi, maaskofu, makardinali, Waanglikana, Walutheri, Waislamu, na watu wengine kutoka duniani kote kupitia dodoso maalum kwa ajili hii.
Katika aya zinazofuata nafanya yafuatayo: Najadili swali kuu la dodoso; naorodhesha maswali madogo 50 ya dodoso; nadadavua dhana ya itikadi (worldview) kama zana muhimu kwa ajili ya kutusaidia kujibu dodoso kwa ufahasa; natumia dhana hii kuonyesha utitiri wa itikadi tulio nao (worldview pluralism) na migongano kati yake; kisha nahitimisha kwa mapendekezo kadhaa nikiwaalika wajibu dodoso kutumia ya itikadi (worldview) kama nyenzo muhimu kwa ajili ya kutofautisha pumba za itikadi duni na mchele wa itikadi bora .
III. DHAMIRA KUU NA SWALI KUU LA SINODI
Dhamira kuu ya Sinodi ya 16 ya Kiaskofu inabainishwa na swali la msingi katika dodoso hilo. Kwa mujibu wa dodoso husika, swali hilo ni:
- Katika kutangaza Injili, kwa njia ya Kanisa la Sinodi, waumini wanapaswa “kusafari pamoja.”
- Je, katika Kanisa mahalia la leo “safari ya pamoja” inafanyika ipasavyo?
- Je, [kama jawabu ni hapana,] ni hatua gani ambazo Roho Mtakatifu anatualika kuchukua ili tuweze [kusafiri pamoja bila kumwacha mtu yeyote nyuma na] kukua wakati wa "safari ya pamoja”?
Kwa mujibu wa swali hili, ni kama vile Papa Francis amesukumwa na Enjili ya Mwana Mpotevu. Anawaacha wale kondoo 99 na kwenda kumtafuta yule mmoja aliyepotea. Anataka kondoo wote wajiunge katika "safari ya pamoja".
Katika historia ya Kanisa, sinodi ya 16 unao upekee wa aina mbili. Kwanza, hii ni sinodi ya kwanza duniani inayoanza kwa kukusanya maoni ya waumini walei wote kwa njia ya dodoso.
Na pili, ni sinodi ya kwanza, kuwaalika watu walio nje ya Madhehebu ya Katoliki kutoa maoni yao juu ya ajenda ya Kanisa Katoliki kuhusu maboresho ya imani na matendo yake.
Yaani, Walutheri, Waanglikana, Wapagani, Wakanamungu, Waislamu na watu baki wenye manung'uniko dhidi ya itikadi Katoliki wanaalikwa kujaza dodoso na kuwasilisha mawazo yao kwa Papa Francis, kupitia viongozi wa Kanisa mahalia, ili ayafanyie kazi.
Ni jukumu la makanisa mahalia kuweka utaratibu mzuri wa kukusanya maoni kutoka kwa makundi yote haya, na kisha kuyafikisha kwa Papa Francis.
Tayari maswali madogo ya dodoso yameorodheshwa kwenye uzi mwingine unaopatikana mahali hapa.
IV. SAFARI YA PAMOJA, IMANI YA PAMOJA, KANISA MOJA
Napenda sasa kufanya tafakari yangu kuhusu dodoso la sinodi ya 16 ya Maaskofu Katoliki Duniani kwa kujibu swali la 12 na swali la 50. Yaani:
- 12. Je, tunayasikilizaje mazingira ya kijamii na kitamaduni yanayotuzunguka?"
- 50. Ni zana gani hutusaidia kusoma mienendo ya utamaduni ambamo tumezama na athari zake kwa mtindo wetu wa Kanisa?
- 12. Je, [tunapaswa kuyasikilizaje] mazingira ya kijamii na kitamaduni yanayotuzunguka?
- 50. Ni zana gani [zinapaswa kutusaidia] kusoma mienendo ya utamaduni ambamo tumezama na athari zake kwa mtindo wetu wa Kanisa?
Safari ya pamoja ni kitu gani na sio kitu gani?
Kuhusu misamiati muhimu, napenda kuongea kidogo juu ya maneno kwamba "sinodi ni safari ya pamoja."
Uhai wa Kanisa la Kisinodi unategemea uwepo wa "safari ya pamoja," safari ya pamoja inamaanisha uwepo wa "Umoja wa Kikanisa," Kanisa ni jumuiya, na Jumuiya ni kitu kimoja kinachowaunganisha watu wengi kwa kutumia "kanuni ya umoja wa vitu vingi vidogo vinavyounda kitu kimoja kikubwa zaidi" (the unity of a compound thing).
Kifalsafa, na hasa tangu enzi za kina Aristotle wa Ugriki, kanuni ya umoja wa vitu vingi inasema kwamba, umoja wa vitu viwili hutegemea uwepo wa kitu cha tatu kinachoviunganisha vitu hivyo viwili; kwamba, umoja wa vitu vitatu hutegemea uwepo wa kitu cha nne kinachoviunganisha vitu hivyo vitatu; na vivyo hivyo kwa vitu vinne, vitano na kuendelea (Hoffman na Rosenkrantz 1998; Johnston 2013: 296-98; Pruss 2013; Qingyun 2015).
Kuhusu dhana hii ya umoja wa kitu kikubwa chenye sehemu nyingi ndogo ndogo, napenda kumnukuu mwanafalsafa na mwanamahesabu Pruss (2013) kuhusiana na fasili yake ya mwili ('body') kama ifuatavyo:
"A [single] body is neither a simple unity nor a mere collection of parts. It is an articulated entity with parts that work together cooperatively, each performing some function needed by the whole" (p.90).
Pruss (2013) anaendelea kuandika, safari hii akitumia dhana hii ya kifalsafa, kuhusu umoja wa mwili ambao ni kitu kizima chenye sehemu nyingi ndogo ndogo ndani yake, katika kukoleza hoja ya kiteolojia ifuatayo:
"The functioning parts of the body are interconnected by their coordinated striving for at least one common purpose. It is worth considering two different theological applications to this [philosophical] notion. The direct connection is Paul’s understanding of the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:13–28... As he says, 'The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you' (12:21). Paul sees the body (soma) as consisting of parts, each of which makes its own distinctive contribution. The eye contributes sight and the hand manipulation. It would not do for one part to exist without the others. Each has need of the others" (p.109).
Kwa ujumla, umoja wa kitu kimoja chenye sehemu nyingi hutegemea uwepo wa kitu cha ziada, mbali na sehemu hizo, ambacho huziunganisha sehemu hizo pamoja hadi kuzifanya ziwe kitu kimoja.
Kwa mfano, ndoa ya mke na mume ni kitu kimoja kwa sababu mke na mume wanaunganishwa na kitu cha tatu kiitwacho tendo la ndoa, ambalo ni tendo la ngono ya jenitalia kwa jenitalia linalofanyika kwa mujibu wa kanuni ya muamala wa kubadilishana zawadi ya mwili (self-donation), na siokufanyika kwa mujibu wa kanuni ya muamala wa kibiashara ambapo mwili ni bidhaa inayopigwa bei (self-comodification).
Familia ya Baba, Mama na Watoto ni kitu kimoja, kwa sababu watoto ni zao la damu ya Baba na Mama linalopatikana kupitia tendo la ngono ya jenitalia kwa jenitalia.
Vivyo hivyo, Kanisa linapaswa kuwa kitu kimoja kwa sababu maalum. Kitu kinachowaunganisha wanakanisa ni imani (credenda) ambayo huweka msingi wa matendo (agenda) na matumaini (speranda) ya pamoja.
Kwa hiyo, pasipo "imani ya pamoja" hakuna "safari ya pamoja", na bila "safari ya pamoja" hakuna "Kanisa la Kisinodi."
Imani ya pamoja ni kitu gani na sio kitu gani?
Kama hivyo ndivyo, swali la kuongoza tafakari yangu linazuka: "imani ya pamoja" ndani ya Kanisa Katoliki, yaani imani yenye kulifanya Kanisa hili lijihesabu na kuhesabiwa kama kitu kimoja, hasa ni kitu gani na sio kitu gani?
Hapa napendekeza kwamba, imani ya kidini, kama vile imani ya Kanisa Katoliki, Imani ya Kanisa la Anglikana na Imani ya Kanisa la Kilutheri, ni itikadi (worldviews) kati ya itikadi nyingi zilizopo ulimwenguni. Ujamaa, ukomunisti wa Karl Marx, Usekulari, na Ukanamungu ni itikadi pia.
Noebel na Myers (2015) wanakubaliana na mtazamo huu. Wao wamejadili aina sita za itikadi zikiwemo itikadi za Secularism, Marxism, Postmodernism, Islam and Christianity. Wanataja fasili ifuatayo ya neno itikadi:
"A worldview is a pattern of ideas, beliefs, convictions, and habits that help us make sense of God, the world, and our relationship to God and the world" (Noebel and Myers 2015:16)
Wanaongeza maneno haya:
"Our worldview does not merely reflect what we think the world is like; it directs what we think the world should be like. In other words, our worldview not only describes reality, it prescribes how we should act and respond to every aspect of life. Because our ideas do determine how we behave, the bottom line is that our ideas do have consequences." (Noebel and Myers 2015:16)
Naye Sire (2009) ameorodhesha itikadi kama vile Theism, Deism, Naturalism, Nihilism, Existentialism, Pantheism, Postmodernism, na kuendelea.
Bila shaka Ukristo na Madhehebu yake, kwa upande mmoja, Uislamu a Madhehebu yake, kwa upande mwingine, ni dini zinazoanguka kwenye itikadi ya Theism.
Na kwa mujibu wa kanuni ya kuhesabu vitu vinavyofanana kwa kutumia vigezo vya lazima na vyenye kutosheleza mahitaji ya kutofautisha vitu hivyo (the principle of individuation based on necessary and sufficient conditions) kila dhehebu linayo itikadi kamili inayolifanya liwe kitu kimoja kamili.
Baada ya kuorodhesha itikadi hizi, Sire (2009) anasema kuwa zote zinafanana katika jambo moja kuu, kwani, kila moja ni "itikadi" ambayo kwa namna yake inatoa jawabu kwa swali lifuatalo:
Je, "anatomia ya msingi ya mti wa uhalisia" (basic constitution of reality) kuhusu Mungu, Binadamu, Jamii na Ulimwengu baki inaonyesha kwamba mti huu unayo matawi mangapi na matawi hayo yana vijitawi vingapi?
Yaani wanasema kuwa:
"A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) that we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being." (Sire 2009:20).
James Olthuis (1989:29) anasema yafuatayo kuhusu dhana ya itikadi (worldview):
"A worldview (or vision of life) is a framework or set of fundamental beliefs through which we view the world and our calling and future in it. This vision need not be fully articulated: it may be so internalized that it goes largely unquestioned; it may not be theoretically deepened into a philosophy; it may not even be codified into a creedal form; it may be greatly refined through culturalhistorical development. Nevertheless, this vision is a channel for the ultimate beliefs which give direction and meaning to life. It is the integrative and interpretive framework by which order and disorder are judged; it is the standard by which reality is managed and pursued; it is the set of hinges on which all our everyday thinking and doing turns."
Katika mazingira haya, Miaka sita baadaye, Sire (2015) aliandika tena na kufafanua itikadi saba alizozitafiti, yaani Christian theism, deism, naturalism, nihilism, exitentialism, new age spirituality na postmodernism. Anatumia maneno yafuatayo, ambayo sitaki kuyatafsiri, maana naweza kupoteza utamu:
"The bulk of [my book entitled] The Universe Next Door identified seven basic worldviews and then proceeded to explain what they were.
"I began with ...THEISM as it has been largely embodied from the seventeenth century to the present [as a belief in a supernatural being called God].
"Then I tried to show how DEISM arose as an erosion of certain key concepts of theism. Deism, as I see it, is ... what is left of theism when the personality of God is abandoned.
"NATURALISM, then, is a further erosion of deism, retaining its optimism with regard to the autonomy of human reason.
"NIHILISM is what is left of naturalism when it is realized that human reason, if autonomous, does not have the power to explain nearly as much as was first thought.
"EXISTENTIALISM—both atheistic and theistic—attempts to “go beyond nihilism,” affirming the intrinsic power of the individual self to will into being its own conception of the good, the true and the beautiful or to affirm by faith what cannot be proved by reason. Eastern pantheistic monism provides for the West a fresh start that attempts to avoid the pitfalls of Western thought.
"NEW AGE [SPIRITUALITY] thought then combines Western existentialism’s exaltation of the self with the Eastern notion of the deity of all things...
"POSTMODERNISM has taken a sociological and psychological twist to deny, on the one hand, the human ability to actually know reality in its essence and, on the other hand, to affirm the adequacy of human communities to construct reality by their language.
"One may not be able to know anything, but one can get along with this knowledge simply by constructing a language that works to get what one wants. Pragmatic knowledge is all one can have and all one needs." (Sire 2015:12). (Emphasis by capitalisation mine).
Mwandishi Sire (2015) anaigawanya itikadi ya "naturalism" kwenye sehemu mbili, yaani "secular humanism" na "Marxist humanism." Kimsingi, wafuasi wa "secular humanism" hawafungamani na upande wowote kati ya "wapingamungu" (atheists) na "wakirimungu" (theists). Kwa upande mwingine, wafuasi wa "Marxist humanism" ni aina mojawapo ya "wapingamungu" (atheists).
Kwa ufupi, anachosema Sire (2009, 2015) kuhusu itikadi kinaweza kunyumbulishwa kwa kusema kwamba:
"A worldview is a set of beliefs about the basic anatomy of reality that influence one's perceptions, thoughts and behaviours." (Mnyumbulisho wangu)
Kwa mfano, katika upande mmoja, Itikadi (worldview) ya Ukristo Asilia tangu enzi za Mitume 12 wa Yesu Mnazareti hadi leo inakumbatia mambo makubwa matatu. Mosi, Kanuni ya Imani ya Mitume, yenye kufafanua kiini cha imani. Pili, Amri Kumi za Musa, zenye kutoa miongozo na miiko maishani. Na tatu, Sala ya Baba Yetu, yenye kufafanua utume wa Yesu na wafuasi wake, kwa mujibu wa Yesu.
Mambo haya matatu yanakubalia katika sehemu kubwa ya Ukristo, yanagusa kila sehemu ya maisha ya Mkristo, yanao msingi wake katika maandiko na teolojia, na ni muhtasari bora kwa ajili udadavuzi wa kipengele kwa kipengele.
Na katika upande wa pili, itikadi (worldview) ya Uislamu inazo nguzo kuu tano. Yaani, kumkiri Allah na Muhamad kama mtume wake; kusali mara tano kwa siku; kufunga wakati wa mwezi mtukufu wa Ramadhani; kutoa zaka; na kufanya hija huko Maka angalau mara moja maishani.
Itikadi (worldview) hizi huokotwa kutoka vyanzo vikuu vitano. Kuna wazazi, makundi rika, viongozi wa dini, viongozi maarufu wa kisiasa na kijamii lakini wasio wazazi wetu, na walimu wetu mashuleni na vyuoni wanaotufunza kwa mujibu wa mitaala rasmi ya kiserikali.
V. TUTAZITAMBUAJE ITIKADI ANWAI ZA ULIMWENGU?
Tamaduni zinazolizinguka Kanisa Katoliki zinaweza kuangazwa vema kama tukikubaliana kwamba, kila utamaduni ni itikadi mtambuka (comprehensive worldview) kamili inayojitegemea.
Katika muktadha huu, napendekeza kwamba, zana inayopaswa kutumika kuumulika Ukristo na tamaduni zinazouzunguka ni kitu ambacho hapa nataka nikiite "Chujio kwa Ajili ya Kuchambua Itiakdi za Ulimwengu."
Kwa ajili ya kuzitambua itikadi anwani za ulimwengu, natofautisha machujio mawili. Kwa upande mmoja kuna "Chujio Kubwa kwa Ajili ya Kuchambua Itiakdi za Ulimwengu (CHUKAKIU)," yaani "Comprehensive Worldview Analysis Toolkit (COWATO)".
Na kwa upande mwingine kuna "Chujio Dogo kwa Ajili ya Kuchambua Itiakdi za Ulimwengu (CHUDAKIU)," yaani "Abridged Worldview Analysis Toolkit (AWATO)."
Mara nyingi, naona kuwa chujio dogo huwa na maswali kati ya nne na kumi. Kwa mfano, Walsh na Middleton (1984) wanataja chujio lenye maswali manne, yaani:
- "(1) Identity: Who am I ,Or, what is the nature, task and purpose of hum an beings?
- (2) Location: Where am I, Or, w hat is the nature of the w orld and universe I live in?
- (3) Evils: What's wrong, Or, w hat is the basic prob lem or obstacle that keeps me from attaining fulfillment or salvation?
- (4) Salvation: What is the remedy, Or, how is it possible to overcome this hindrance to my fulfillment or salvation? "(p.35)
Sire (2009) anataja chujio lenye maswali saba yafuatayo:
- "(1) Ontology: What is prime reality?
- (2) Cosmology: What is the nature of the cosmos, that is, the world around us?
- (3) Anthropology: What is a human being?
- (4) Thanatology: What happens to a person at death?
- (5) Epistemology: Why is it possible to know anything at all?
- (6) Ethicology: How do we know what is right and wrong?
- (7) Historiology: What is the meaning of human history?" (p. 22-24)
Na Noebel na Myers (2015) wanataja chujio lenye maswali kumi yafuatayo:
- "(1) Theology: How did I and everything else get here?
- (2) Philosophy: What is real, as opposed to illusion, and how can I know it with certainty?
- (3) Ethics: What does it mean to live a good life?
- (4) Biology: What does it mean to be alive?
- (5) Psychology: What makes me a person?
- (6) Sociology: How do we live in community with one another?
- (7) Economics: How can individuals and the community be optimally productive?
- (8) Law: What constitutes just and orderly governance?
- (9) Politics: What is the best way to organize a political community?
- (10) History: How did people in the past think and act on theology, philosophy, ethics, biology, psychology, sociology, politics, law, and economics?" (p.30-36).
Ni rai yangu kwamba, zana ya kuchuja itikadi mtambuka yenye kubeba maswali manne, saba, kumi, hata ishirini, haikidhi mahitaji yaliyopo kwa ajili ya kuzifananisha na kuzitofautisha itikadi mtambuko zilizopo katika dunia ya leo.
Katika ulimwengu wa leo, itikadi (worldview) inabeba mambo mengi sana, kama ambavyo mitaala ya kielimu kuanzia chekechea hadi chuo kikuu sehemu mbalimbali duniani inavyoshuhudia.
Kwa hiyo, kama nitakavyoonyesha hivi punde, napendekeza kwamba, tunapaswa kutumia "Chujio Mtambuka kwa Ajili ya Kuchambua Itiakdi za Ulimwengu," inayojumuisha maswali yanayogawanyika kwenye mafungu yapatayo 60.
Ni katika muktadha huu, natumia neno "itikadi" kumaanisha "worldview." Haya ni maneno ambao yanawakilisha dhana mahsusi kama inavyojadiliwa na watafiti maarufu, ndani na nje ya Kanisa Katoliki, kama nitakavyoonyesha.
Na maneno "Itikadi mtambuka" hapa yatamaanisha dhana ya "Comprehensive Worldview" kama inavyojadiliwa na wanazuoni kama vile John Rawls ambaye pia alipendelea kutumia maneno "comprehensive doctrines" kama kisawe (Rawls 1987).
Ni maoni yangu kwamba, chujio mwafaka la kiitikadi linapaswa kujumuisha maeneo 60 yafuatayo:
- Administrology (Utawala wa taasisi)
- Agatheology (Wema wa Mungu)
- Agathology (Wema)
- Angelology (Malaika)
- Anthropology (Ubinadamu)
- Axiology (Tunu)
- Biology (Uhai)
- Chorology (Mwanya)
- Christology (Yesu Kristo)
- Chronology (Mahusiano kati ya historia na eskatolojia)
- Clericology (Mfumo-kasisi)
- Cosmology (Ulimwengu ulio nje ya mwili)
- Criminology (Jinai)
- Criteriology (logic) (Mantiki)
- Demology (Ongezeko la watu)
- Demonology (Shetani)
- Deontology (Haki na majukumu)
- Dogmatology (Imani zisizopaswa kuhojiwa)
- Ecclesiology (Utawala wa Kikanisa)
- Ecology (Mazingira)
- Economiology(Economics) (Uchumi)
- Ecumenology (Uekumene)
- Embryology (Mimba)
- Epistemology (Maarifa ya kweli)
- Ethicology (Maadili)
- Etiology (Mfumo wa sababu na matokeo)
- Harmatiology (Dhambi)
- Hedonology (Anasa za mwili na roho)
- Historiology (Historia)
- Jurisiology (Jurisprudence) (Sheria)
- Mariology (Bikira Maria)
- Matrimoniology (Ndoa)
- Meriology (Kitu kizima na sehemu zake)
- Mythology (Visasili)
- Naratology (Masimulizi)
- Organismology (Uaoganizimalia)
- Ontology (Kikonyo cha uhalisia)
- Paterology (Mungu Baba)
- Pathology (Magonjwa)
- Patriarchology (Mfumo dume)
- Personology (Utu)
- Phenomenology (fenomena)
- Physicology (physics) (fizikia)
- Pneumatology (Roho Mtakatifu)
- Politology (uongozi wa nchi)
- Ponerology (Ubaya)
- Praxiology (Kupanga, kutekeleza, na kupima utekelezaji)
- Psychology (Mind) (King'amuzi chenye akili na utashi)
- Sacramentology (Sakramenti)
- Semiology (Alama)
- Sexology (Ujinsia)
- Sociology (Jamii)
- Somatology (Tabia za magimba)
- Soteriology (Wokovu/Ustawi)
- Technology (Tekinolojia)
- Teliology (Sarafu ya uhalisia na telosia)
- Thanatology (Kifo)
- Thaumatology (miujiza)
- Theology (Miungu)
- Trinitology (Utatu wa nafsi ya Baba, Mwana, na Roho Mtakatifu)
VI. JINSI ITIKADI ZINAVYOFANYA KAZI
Kwa ujumla, itikadi ni kama miwani ya maisha. Ukivaa miwani ya kijani kila kitu kinaonekana kijana. Kama miwani inayo rangi nyekundi, kila kitu kinaonekana chekundu. Ukivaa miwani yenye lenzi mbinuko pini inaonekana kubwa kama mkuki. Na ukivaa miwani yenye lenzi mbonyeo, gari kubwa linaonekana dogo kama karai.
Tofauti hizi zinaweza kuonyeshwa kwa njia nyingine, Yaani, kwa kutumia mfano wa kioo chenye umbo la mche pembetatu (prism/prizimu), miale ya mwanga wa uhalisia inayotua kwenye upande mmoja wa prizimu hiyo, na miale ya mwanga wa uhalisia inayopita na kuchomoza kwenye upande wa pili wa prizimu hiyo.
Kwa kawaida mwanga mweupe ukigonga, na kisha kupita kwenye uso wa kioo cha prizimu ya aina hii, hupiga kona kidogo kwa kutengeneza pembe mchepuko (dispersion angle), kutanuka, na hivyo kuonyesha miale minane ya rangi zilizofichika ndani ya mwanga mweupe, yaani rangi za Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Bluee, Indigo, na Violet (ROYGBIV) kama picha ifuatayo inavyoonyesha.
Kila mwale unaochomoza upande wa pili wa prizimu unao upana wake wa mawimbi yenye kuambatana na upana wa frikwensi zake maalum kama jedwali lifuatalo linavyoonyesha, ambapo upana wa mdomo wa wimbi moja inatamkwa kutumia kipimo cha nanometa (nm), wakati upana wa frikwensi ya wimbi moja inatamkwa kwa kutumia kipimo cha teraherts (THz).
Vivyo hivyo, miale mtuo ya mwanga wa uhalisia ukitua na kisha kupenya kwenye kioo cha prizimu ya itikadi yoyote, itazalisha miale mchomozo ya kiitikadi, kila mwale mchomozo ukiwa na upana wake wa frikwensi za uhalisia kulingana na prizimu ya kiitikadi iliyotumika kutawanya mwanga.
VII. MGAWANYO WA ITIKADI KWENYE MAKUNDI KADHAA
Kwa ujumla, itikadi zote zinaweza kugawanywa katika makundi mawili. Kwa upande mmoja, itikadi za kidini zinaunganishwa na sifa zifuatazo: zinajihusisha na mambo yasiyoweza kuthibitishwa wala kukanushwa kwa njia ya milango mitano ya fahamu (empirically untestable matters).
Pia kuna ibada; vitu vyote hugawanywa katika makundi mawili ya vitu vitakatifu na vitu visivyo vitakatifu; uendelevu; kugusa maisha yote ya watu.
Aidha itikadi hizi zina msingi wake katika hadithi za kale zilizovishwa joho la utakatifu kwa ajili ya kueleza sisi ni nani, tumetoka wapi, tuko wapi, na tunakwenda wapi.
Kadhalika, itikadi hizi hutaja wanaachopaswa kuamini watu kuhusu Mungu, ukweli, chimbuko la ulimwengu, ubinadamu, maadili, wokovu, lengo la maisha, na hatima ya ulimwengu.
Na mwisho itikadi hizi hutaja mwongozo inaowaonyesha wafuasi jinsi ya kuenenda kulingana na mapenzi ya Mungu wao.
Mifano ya itikadi za kidini ni dini za Ubuda, Ukristo, Uhindu, Uyahudi, Uislamu, Usiki, na Utao.
Kwa upande mwingine, itikadi za kidunia zinajihusisha na mambo yanayoweza kuthibitishwa au kukanushwa kwa njia ya milango mitano ya fahamu (empirically testable matters).
Hizi ni imani zilizobuniwa na wanadamu kwa ajili ya kujibu maswali kadhaa ya maisha kuhusu kuhusu Mungu, Binadamu, Jamii na Ulimwengu baki.
Kwa mujibu wa itikadi hizi, kizio cha ukweli ni milango mitano ya fahamu. Mifano yake ni materialism or physicalism, humanism, naturalism, atheism , secularism na scientism/empiricism.
Mgawanyo huu wa itikadi katika itikadi za kidini na itikadi za kidunia ni kwa mujibu wa andiko la Sulaiman (2018).
VIII. JINSI YA KUTAMBUA MIGONGANO YA KIITIKADI
Kwa ujumla, ni maoni yangu kwamba, imani za watu kuhusu "anatomia ya mti wa uhalisia" kuhusu Mungu, Binadamu, Jamii na Ulimwengu baki zikichambuliwa vema, zitaonyesha kuwa mti huu unayo matawi 60 yafuatayo, yakiwa yamepangiliwa kialfabeti:
- Administrology (Utawala wa taasisi): How should hierarchical institutions be governed?
- Agatheology (Wema wa Mungu): How can we save the face of God who is identified with the ultimate good given the existence of terrible physical and moral evils in the world?
- Agathology (Wema): what does the doctrine of human goods tells us tell us about the role of basic and instrumental goods in human floursihing?
- Angelology (Malaika): What is the ontological nature and relevance of angels to human life?
- Anthropology (Ubinadamu): What is the nature of human beings and their place in the universe?
- Axiology (Tunu): what does the doctrine of human values tell us about the role of basic and instrumental values in human floursihing?
- Biology (Uhai): Given that social, mechanical and biological organicity/organismality of a compound thing is the mutual influence and interaction between a totality and its parts toward a given telos, what does it mean to be biologically alive?
- Chorology (Mwanya): What is the relationship between physical bodies and the physical spaces they occupy at any given time?
- Christology (Yesu Kristo): What is the nature of Jesus Christ and how does he relate to humans and the Godhead?
- Chronology (Majira): Is Time Substantival or Relational? Is Time Linear or Cyclic? Is Time Tensed or Tenseless? Is Time Finite or Infinite? What Is the Relationship between abstract objects, gods, God and Time? What is the ontological, epistemological and topological nature of the flow of time, that is, the temporal ordering of events accross time slices, and how is this process related to events such as the birth, persistence and death of some objects, on one hand, and the eternity of some objects, on the other hand? Is Time Real or Illusory?
- Clericology (Mfumo-kasisi): What is the basis of the belief and practice that priests and bishops are very special, superior to lay people in matters personal and religious, and that their authority and pronouncements on all issues should be accepted and acted upon without deliberative inputs from those without the clerical designation?
- Cosmology (Ulimwengu ulio nje ya mwili): What is the nature of the cosmos, that is, the world around us?
- Criminology (Jinai): What is the nature of crimes and how do they differ from sins?
- Criteriology (logic) (Mantiki): What is the nature of sound and valid reasoning?
- Demology (Ongezeko la watu): What is the nature of population growth and how can it be controlled?
- Demonology (Shetani): What is the nature of demons and how are they related to humans?
- Deontology (Haki na majukumu): What is the origin and nature human rights and duties?
- Dogmatology (Imani zisizopaswa kuhojiwa): What is the nature of beliefs which are accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted? Why is a particular Christian doctrine that has been raised to the status of an essential article of the church as an official councilliar and popal interpretation of divine revelation, such as the dogma of the Trinity, as formally stated in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381AC), considered infallible, despite the overtly inherent contradictions?
- Ecclesiology (Utawala wa Kikanisa): How best should a church be governed?
- Ecology (Mazingira): How do human activities positively and negatively affect ecosystem services and biodiversity and what can be done to balance the two?
- Economiology(Economics) (Uchumi): How can individuals and the community be optimally productive?
- Ecumenology (Uekumene): What is the Christian theology of other denominations and religions and to what extent does it promote social unity?
- Embryology (Mimba): What is embryonic human life and when does it begin?
- Epistemology (Maarifa ya kweli): Why is it possible to know anything at all?
- Ethicology (Maadili): How do we know what is right and wrong?
- Etiology (Mfumo wa sababu na matokeo): What is the ontological, episemological, spatial and temporal nature of causes and their effects?
- Harmatiology (Dhambi): Is a sinful human act morally evil because it violates God's commandment or God 's commandment forbids it because it is morally evil?
- Hedonology (Anasa za mwili na roho): What is the nature of the relationship between leisure, pleasure and recreation? What are the similarities and differences between intellectual and sensual pleasure? How can one maintain a healthy balance between intellectual and sensual pleasure? If so, is the puritanism-hedonism phenomenon an either/or scenario or a both/and scenario?
- Historiology (Historia): What is the meaning of human history?
- Jurisiology (Jurisprudence) (Sheria): What constitutes just and orderly governance?
- Mariology (Bikira Maria): How well does the study of Mary, the mother of Jesus, her immaculate conception and assumption to Heaven relate to other doctrines of the faith, such as the nature of Jesus, redemption, intercession and grace?
- Matrimoniology (Ndoa): Heterosexual marriage provides the social and economic framework for the basic relationship between a man and a woman, and it promotes solidarity among an extended family. Various forms of marriage are governed by the proscription and permissiveness of cultures. The four kinds of marriage commonly recognized are monogamy, in which one man and one woman are joined; polygyny, in which one man is married to more than one woman; polyandry, in which one woman is married to more than one man; and group marriage, in which both sexes are joined to more than one partner. Both group marriage and polyandry are regarded by anthropologists as rare. What should be marriage and which human community should count as one?
- Meriology (Kitu kizima na sehemu zake): What is the nature of the relationships between a whole and its parts?
- Mythology (Visasili): What is the nature of myhtologies and what role do they play in human life?
- Naratology (Masimulizi): What is the nature of narratives and metanarratives and what role do they play in human life?
- Organismology (uoganizimalia): What is organismality/organicity and what is it note? Given that an organism is a social, mechanical or biological compound thing whose totality and parts manifest mutual influence and interaction toward a given telos, what are the similarities and differences between social organisms, mechanical organisms and biological organisms?
- Ontology (Kikonyo cha uhalisia): What is primary reality?
- Paterology (Mungu Baba): What is the nature of God the Father, the first person of Godhead, and how does he relate to humans and the Godhead?
- Pathology (Magonjwa): What is the nature of human diseases?
- Patriarchology (Mfumo dume): What is the origin and nature of patriarchy?
- Personology (Utu): What is a peprson and who counts as one?
- Phenomenology (fenomena): What are worldly objects and events from the perspective of the spectator?
- Physicology (physics) (fizikia): What is matter and how is it related to energy?
- Pneumatology (Roho Mtakatifu): What is the nature of God the Holy Spirit, the third person of Godhead, and how does he relate to humans and the Godhead?
- Politology (uongozi wa nchi): What is the best way to organize a political community?
- Ponerology (Ubaya): What is the origin and nature of world evils?
- Praxiology (Kupanga, kutekeleza, na kupima utekelezaji): What is an effective and efficient approach for framing plans, executing and reviewing them?
- Psychology (Mind) (King'amuzi chenye akili na utashi): What makes me a person?
- Sacramentology (Sakramenti): What is the origin and nature of a sacrament?
- Semiology (Alama): What is the nature of the relationship between the sign, the signified, and the signification process?
- Sexology (Ujinsia): What is the nature of human sexuality and why is it important in human life?
- Sociology (Jamii): How do we live in community with one another?
- Somatology (Tabia za magimba): What are the properties of physical bodies and how do they explain the relationships between bodies, time and space? The following are the known properties of matter: figure, divisibility, indestructability, porosity, compressibility, dilatability, mobility, inertia, attraction, repulsion, polarity, elasticity, extension, impenetrability and irreplicability. The latter three properties are more relevant to the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist. The Catholic doctrine on the Eucharist, asserts that, after consecration prayer, the body of Jesus Christ, who is in heaven, is truly, really, wholly and substantially present in every consecrated host wherever it may be located on earth. These Catholic claims contradict the somatological principles of impenetrability and irreplicability of bodies. Since the 16 century during the Reformation the Protestant opposed them and argued that the consecration process was a symbolical and not literal process. The Protestants avioided the risk of being labelled cannibalists, while the Catholic Church consistently embraces it until today. Which doctrine of the Eucharist is more rational and closer to truth as seen by God?
- Soteriology (Wokovu/Ustawi): What is human welfare/salvation?
- Technology (Tekinolojia): “What are the positive and negative impacts of modern technical and industrial innovations for meeting human needs and desires and how can they be balanced?
- Teliology (Sarafu ya uhalisia na telosia): What is the relationship between potentiality, actuality, possession, deprivation, and privation?
- Thanatology (Kifo): What is the origin and the nature of death?
- Thaumatology (miujiza): What is the origin and nature of miracles?
- Theology (Miungu): What is the nature of gods including the god called God? Questions about arguments: Are there persuasive arguments that God exists? Are there persuasive arguments that God does not exist? Are there persuasive arguments that we should suspend judgement about whether God exists? Questions about reason and rationality: Can one reasonably or rationally believe that God exists? Can one reasonably or rationally believe that God does not exist? Can one reasonably or rationally believe that we may or should suspend judgement about whether God exists? Questions about divine attributes: What are the necessary and sufficient properties of individuation does God have, if God exists?
- Trinitology (Utatu wa Mungu mmoja): What is the nature of the relationship between God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and the Godhead as understood within the context of Christianity? Can Christian theologians solve the following Trinitarian puzzles, and if yes, how: modalism puzzle, tritheism puzzle, subordination puzzle, procession puzzle, self-creation puzzle, divine triunity puzzle, perichoresis puzzle, and person–nature puzzle?
X. SABABU ZA MIGONGANO YA KIITIKADI
Ni rai yangu kwamba, ndani ya itikadi Katoliki, kuna mikanganyiko ya kimantiki na mikanganyiko ya kimetafizikia inayopaswa kuondolewa ili kulinusuru Kanisa dhidi ya mmomonyoko wa waumini kwa sababu hizi. Mikanganyiko hii huzalkisha mgyiko hii huzalisha migongano kati ya itikadi moja na itikadi nyingine.
Profesa George(2001), ameandika kwa kirefu kuhusu migongano ya kiitikadi inayojitokeza kutokana na maisha ya watu katika jamii zenye mseto wa itikadi nyingi.
George(2001) anapendekeza kwamba, migongano ya kiitikadi (clashes of worldviews) ndani ya Utamaduni wa Magharibi ni jambo la kawaida zaidi kuliko migongano kati ya Tamaduni za Mashariki na Tamaduni za Magharibi.
Kwa maoni yake, tayari ndani ya Utamaduni wa Kimagharibi kuna migongano ya kiitikadi kati ya itikadi zenye majina yanaoishia na kiambishi tamati cha "ism". Mfano ni feminism, communism, socialism, capitalism, liberationism, secularism, catholicism, anglicanism, lutheranism, na liberalism.
Kwa pamoja anarejea baadhi ya itikadi hizi kama "liberal secularism" au “secularist orthodoxy” kwa ajili ya kuzitofautisha na itikadi ya "Christian Orthodoxy" inayofuatwa na makundi kama vile Wayahudi, Wapentekoste, na Wahafidhina Katoliki.
Lengo la George katika kitabu hiki ni kuweka wazi msimamo kwamba, kadiri mafundisho ya kimaadili na kifalsafa kuhusu hulka na matendo ya binadamu yanavyohusika, mtazamo wa Ukristo wa Kihafidhina ni bora kuliko Ukristo wa Kiliberali.
Anadai mkwamba anatumia sababu zinazokubalika katika jukwaa la mijadala ya kirazini, na zenye kuungwa mkono na misahafu. Analitangaza lengo hili kwa maneno yafuatayo:
"I want to show that Christians and other believers are right to defend their positions on key moral issues as rationally superior to the alternatives proposed by secular liberals and those within the religious denominations who have abandoned traditional moral principles in favor of secularist morality. My criticism of secular liberal views is not that they are contrary to faith; it is that they fail the test of reason."(p.7)
George anahitimisha hoja zake kitabuni kwa kusisitiza mambo mawili. Mosi, kwamba, migongano ya kiitikadi kati ya Ukristo wa Kihafidhina na Ukristo wa Kiliberali sio mgogoro wenye sura ya uadui kati ya imani na urazini, bali mnyukano kati ya hoja bora za kirazini na hoja dhaifu za kirazini.
Na pili, kwamba, katika miogoro hii, hoja za Ukristo wa Kihafidhina ni bora kuliko hoja dhaifu za Ukristo wa Kiliberali.
Sio lengo langu hapa kuchambua hoja zake. Lakini nataka kukosoa jambo moja muhimu kusudi mjadala unaoendelea hapa uweze kutazamwa katika urefu na upana wake.
Nakosoa maneno yake kwamba, kwa sehemu kubwa, mgongano wa kiitikdi unatokea kwenye sekta za kiitikadi zinazohusu biology, sexology, matrimoniology, na politology; yaani katika masuala ya uhai, ujinsia, ndoa na nafasi ya mamdhehebu ya kidini katika kutunga sheria za nchi yenye dini zaidi ya moja.
Tatizo ni pana zaidi ya hapo. Kwa hakika, kuna migongano mikubwa zaidi kwenye maeneo mengine zaidi ya 50 mbali na haya maeneo manne aliyoyataja.
Ni bahati mbaya kwamba, hoja zinazohusu uhai wa mimba, uhai wa wagonjwa mahututi, ujinsia tata, na ndoa za jinsia moja, hoja ambazo mara nyingi huambatana na mihemuko, hutumiwa kama nyenzo ya kuzalisha mihemuko miongoni mwa wasikilizaji, na hivyo kuwaziba midomo wakosoaji wenye hoja mbadala na zenye mashiko.
Lakini, ukweli ni kwamba, unaweza kuwaziba midomo watu wote kwa muda mfupi, unaweza kuwaziba midomo watu wachache muda wote, lakini huwezi kuwaziba midomo watu wote muda wote. Ni katika muktadha wa mantiki hii, nakosoa maneno ya profesa George (2001) yafuatayo:
"First, let’s get clear what is at stake in the conflict between Christian (and Jewish and to a large extent Islamic) morality and the secularist orthodoxy. The issues immediately in play have MAINLY, though not exclusively, to do with sexuality, the transmitting and taking of human life, and the place of religion and religiously informed moral judgment in public life."(p.11) (emphasis by capitalisation and underlining is mine)
Nitaeleza ukosoaji wangu kwa njia ya mifano kadhaa, kwa kuzingatia kambi mbili za kiitikadi zinazopendekezwa na George (2001), yaani, Itikadi ya Ukristo wa KIhafidhina na Itikadi ya Ukristo wa Kiliberali.
Kwa vile Itikadi ya Ukristo wa Kiliberali ni kabila lenye koo nyingi, nitatumia koo mbili kama wawakilishi, yaani ukoo wa "deism" na ukoo wa "naturalism."
Na kwa ajili hii nitafananisha na kutofautisha itikadi hizi mbili kwa kutumia maswali yafuatayo:
(1) Ontology: What is prime reality? (2) Cosmology: What is the nature of the cosmos, that is, the world around us? (3) Anthropology: What is a human being? (4) Thanatology: What happens to a person at death? (5) Epistemology: Why is it possible to know anything at all? (6) Ethicology: How do we know what is right and wrong? (7) Historiology: What is the meaning of human history? (Sire 2009: 22-24)
Kwa upande mmoja, kama mwale wa uhalisia utatua kwenye prizimu ya Itikadi ya Ukristo wa KIhafidhina (Conservative Christianity), basi upande wa pili kutatokea miale mchomozo yenye kuonyesha ukweli ufuatao:
(1) Prime reality is the infinite, personal God revealed in the Holy Scriptures. This God is triune, transcendent and immanent, omniscient, sovereign, and good. (2) External reality is the cosmos God created ex-nihilo to operate with a uniformity of cause and effect in an open system. (3) Human beings are created in the image of God and thus possess personality, self-transcendence, intelligence, morality, gregariousness and creativity. (4) Human beings can know both the world around them and God himself because God has built into them the capacity to do so and because he takes an active role in communicating with them. (5) For each person death is either the gate to life with God and his people or the gate to eternal separation from the only thing that will ultimately fulfill human aspirations. (6) Ethics is transcendent and is based on the character of God as good (holy and loving). (7) History is linear, a meaningful sequence of events leading to the fulfillment of God’s purposes for humanity. (Sire 2009:25-46)
Na kwa upande mwingine, mwale wa uhalisia ukipenya kwenye prizimu ya itikadi ya Ukristo wa Kiliberali (LIberal Christianity), kama inavyowakilishwa na ukoo wa "deism", huenda ikaonyesha miale mchomozo ifuatayo:
(1) A transcendent God, as a First Cause, created the universe but then left it to run on its own. God is thus not immanent, not triune, not fully personal, not sovereign over human affairs, not providential. (2) The cosmos God created is determined, because it is created as a uniformity of cause and effect in a closed system; no miracle is possible. (3) Human beings, though personal, are a part of the clockwork of the universe. (4) Human beings may or may not have a life beyond their physical existence. (5) Through our innate and autonomous human reason and the methods of science, we can not only know the universe but we can infer at least something of what God is like. The cosmos, this world, is understood to be in its normal state; it is not fallen or abnormal. (6) Ethics is intuitive or limited to general revelation; because the universe is normal, it reveals what is right. (7) History is linear, for the course of the cosmos was determined at creation. Still the meaning of the events of history remains to be understood by the application of human reason to the data unearthed and made available to historians. (Sire 2009: 47-65).
Ulinganisho mdogo tu huu hapa unatosha kuonyesha kwamba kuna bonde la ufa kubwa sana kati ya Itikadi ya Ukristo wa Kihafidhina na Itikadi ya Ukristo wa Kiliberali, hata kabla ya kuongelea uhai, ujinsia, ndoa na nafasi ya dini katika majukwaa ya umma.
Kwa ajili ya kuweka msisitizo kwenye mpasuko huu katika ngazi ya ontology, cosmology, anthropology, thanatology, ethicology, epistemology, na historiology, naongeza udadavuzi wa ukoo mwingine wa Itikadi ya Ukristo wa Kiliberali uitwao "naturalism."
Kama mwale wa uhalisia utapenya kwenye kioo cha prizimu ya "naturalism", huenda miale mchomozo yenye kutoa ujumbe ufuatao itatokea:
(1) Prime reality is matter. Matter exists eternally and is all there is. Neither God, gods nor spirits exist. (2) The cosmos exists as a uniformity of cause and effect in a closed system. (3) Human beings are complex machines; personality is an interrelation of chemical and physical properties we do not yet fully understand. (4) Death is extinction of personality and individuality. No life beyond the grave. (5) Through our innate and autonomous human reason, including the methods of science, we can know the universe. The cosmos, including this world, is understood to be in its normal state. (6) Ethics is related only to human beings, without any reference to God, gods or spirits. (7) History is a linear stream of events linked by cause and effect but without an overarching purpose. (Sire 2009: 66-93).
Kwa hiyo, sasa tunaweza kuelewa tamko kwamba, kukosekana kwa "Kanisa la Kisinodi" kunatokana na ukosefu wa "safari ya pamoja" kwa sababu ya ukosefu wa "imani ya pamoja," imani ambayo hapa nimeiita "itikadi."
Ndio kusema kwamba, watu walioko nje ya barabara inayotumiwa na waumini wanaotembea kama "Kanisa la Kisinodi" wako nje kwa kuwa wanayo itikadiambayo, kwa kiasi fulani, ni tofauti.
Yaani, kama tukiongelea Kanisa la Kisinodi ndani ya Kanisa Katoliki, hii maana yake ni kwamba, kwa wale walioko nje ya Kanisa hili, ama itikadi Katoliki imewakataa au wao wmeikataa au bado wanaitafakari.
XI. MIKANGANYIKO YA KIITIKADI CHANZO CHA MMOMONYOKO WA KANISA
Kwa sababu ya utitiri wa itikadi katika jamii, baadhi ya watu wanapata sababu ya kuchagua na kubagua kambi za kiitikdai. Kwa mfano, tafiti zinaonyesha kuwa kuna mmomonyoko wa wafuasi ndani ya Kanisa Katoliki (dissaffiliation) kwa sababu mbalimbali.
Kwa mfano, Kanisa Katoliki linapoteza wafuasi kila kukicha. Karibu 13% ya Wamarekani wanajitambulisha kama “Wakatoliki Wastaafu”. Kati yao, 71% wanasema waliondoka Kanisa Katoliki kwa sababu "ilitokea tu." (Manning 2018).
Lakini, kutakuwepo na sababu za msingi zaidi. Kwa hiyo, swali la kiutafiti ni hili hapa: Je, data za kitafiti zinafichua sababu gani za ukengeufu dhidi ya kanuni za imani ya Kikristo kama inavyoeleweka katika mapokeo?
Swali hili linaweza kujibiwa kwa mujibu wa nguzo nne za imani ya Kikristo. Nguzo hizo ni maarifa ya imani, maisha ya sakramenti, kushi maadili, na maisha ya sala.
Katika muundo wa maswali, mambo haya manne yanamaanisha maswali ya kitafiti yafuatayo:
- (1) Ujuzi wa imani: Je, watu wanaondoka kwenye Kanisa Katoliki kwa sababu hawaelewi imani yake?
- (2) Mkanganyiko wa kimantiki katika imani: Je watu wanaondoka kwenye Kanisa Katoliki kwa sababu imani hiyo inaambatana na mkanganyiko wa kimantiki?
- (3) Mkanganyiko wa kimetafizikia katika imani: Je watu wanaondoka kwenye Kanisa Katoliki kwa sababu imani hiyo inaambatana na mkanganyiko wa kimetafizikia?
- (4) Maisha ya sakramenti: Je, kuna upungufu wa wazi wa ubatizo, ndoa, na mahudhurio ya ibada ya kila juma?
- (5) Kuishi kwa mujibu wa imani: Je, Wakatoliki hukubali mazoea ambayo yanashutumiwa rasmi na mamlaka ya kufundisha ya Kanisa kuwa ni makosa ya kimaadili? na
- (6) Maisha ya sala: Je, idadi ya Wakatoliki wanaosali angalau mara moja kwa siku inaongezeka au la?
Kuhusu swali la pili, ushahidi unaonyesha kuwa, sababu kubwa inayosababisha ongezeko la "Wakatoliki Wastaafu" ni mkanyanyiko wa kimantiki na (logical contradiction) uliomo katika mafundisho mengi ambayo ni sehemu ya itikadi Katoliki.
Kimantiki, Kanuni ya Kutojipinga kwa Ukweli wa Kimantiki (Law of Logical Non-Contradiction) inasema kuwa, kauli ile ile moja haiwezi kusema ukweli na kuupinga ukweli huo wakati huo huo na katika mazingira yale yale. Branson (2014) anasema yafuatayo kuhusu dhana ya mkanyanyiko wa kimantiki ninayoiongelea hapa:
"A set of propositions is explicitly inconsistent if and only if, at least, one member of the set just is the denial or negation of, at least, one member of the set. A set of propositions is formally inconsistent if and only if an explicit contradiction can be derived from its members using only the rules of ordinary logic. A set of propositions is implicitly inconsistent if and only if adding some necessarily true proposition(s) to it yields a formally inconsistent set." (Branson 2014:10)
Kuhusu swali la tatu, ushahidi unaonyesha kuwa, sababu nyingine kubwa inayosababisha ongezeko la "Wakatoliki Wastaafu" ni mkanyanyiko wa kimetafizikia (metaphysical contradiction) uliomo katika mafundisho mengi ambayo ni sehemu ya itikadi Katoliki.
Kanuni ya Kutojipinga kwa Ukweli wa Kimetafizikia (Law of Metaphysical Non-Contradiction) inasema kuwa, kitu kile kile X hakiwezi kuwa na sifa Y na kukosa kuwa na sifa Y wakati huo huo na katika muktadha ule ule.
Yaani, mkanganyiko wa kimetafikia unahusu anatomia ya uhalisia ulioko nje ya akili za watu. Kuhusu jambo hili, Tahko (2009) anasema maneno haya:
"...the law of non-contradiction (LNC) is a metaphysical rather than a logical principle... We will, however, be better off with one of Aristotle’s many formulations of the LNC, such as, 'the same attribute cannot at the same time belong and not belong to the same subject in the same respect.' When put like this, the principle appears considerably deeper, as it clearly states a restriction that concerns things rather than just propositions. We can thus avoid a prolonged discussion about the nature of propositions... At its simplest, the metaphysical interpretation of LNC amounts to this: the entities of the mind-independent reality are plausibly governed by some sort of principles (as otherwise there would be no order in our experience of them), that is, there are some constraints as to what kind of properties a certain kind of entity can and cannot have, and further, some of these properties are mutually exclusive. For instance, a particle cannot both have and not have a charge at the same time, or an object cannot be both green and red all over at the same time. It seems that reality just is such that it conforms to the law of noncontradiction." (p.32-33)
Kwa mfano, sifa moja ya sayari ya dunia ni ukweli kwamba hii ni sayari ya tatu katika mfumo wa jua. Sayari hii haiwezi kuwa sayari ya tatu na isiwe sayari ya tatu ndani ya mfumo ule ule wa jua.
Kwa hiyo, mkanganyiko wa kimetafizikia utakuwa ni madai kwamba sayasi ya dunia ni sayari ya tatu na sio sayari ya tatu katika mfumo wa jua.
Kuhusu swali la nne hapo juu, yaani maadhimisho ya sakramenti, tafiti zinaonyesha kuwa nkuna kupungua kwa ubatizo, ndoa, na mahudhurio ya ibada ya kila Jmapili.
Kuhusiana na swali la tano, data ya uchunguzi zinadhihirisha kwamba, Wakatoliki wengi wanaidhinisha desturi zifuatazo ambazo zinashutumiwa rasmi na mamlaka ya Kanisa: adhabu ya kifo, matumizi ya kingamimba, mauaji ya huruma, talaka, ngono kabla ya ndoa, na kadhalika.
Lakini, mbali na masuala haya ya kimaadili na mambo mengine ya kuishi maisha ya imani kama vile zaka na ushiriki wa parokiani, Wakatoliki wanaonyesha dalili za kujitolea kidini katika baadhi ya maeneo lakini si mengine.
Hatimaye, kuhusu swali la sita, yaani sala, takwimu zinaonyesha kwamba, asilimia ya Wakatoliki wanaosali angalau mara moja kwa siku inaongezeka. Kwa hiyo, mabadiliko yanatokea duniani, hayawafanyi raia kuwa mbali zaidi na Mungu.
Lakini, kwa ujumla, mabadiliko katika imani na tabia za Kikatoliki zinazoonekana katika data ya sosholojia kwa hakika hufichua ukengeufu dhidi ya kanuni za imani ya Kikristo kama zinavyoeleweka kimapokeo.
Hasa hasa, kupungua kwa wazi kwa adhimisho la kisakramenti na kuongezeka uasi dhidi ya mafundisho rasmi ya kimaadili juu ya masuala fulani ya maadili kunaelezea kwa nini Ukatoliki unachukuliwa na wengine kuwa unamomonyoka.
Hata hivyo, kuongezeka kwa shughuli katika maeneo mengine, kama vile ushiriki wa parokiani, maombi, na kujiweka karibu na Mungu kwa njia ya sala binafsi, kunapingana na masimulizi ya wananadharia ya kisekulari kwamba dini inaporomoka kwa kufuata mstari ulionyooka kwa sababu ya changamoto za ulimwengu wa kisayansi.
Kwa ufupi, Wakatoliki wengi hawaoni tena maana katika sakramenti au kuona umuhimu wa baadhi ya mafundisho ya Kanisa kwa maisha yao ya kila siku. Ijapokuwa nia yao ya kuendelea kuwa na uhusiano na Mungu iko pale pale, hawa wakatoliki wastaafu, wanaachana na dini kama mfumo wa kimapokeo wa kuwaunganisha watu ambao uliwategemeza mababu zao.
Kinachohitajika hapa ni ama kubadilisha itikadi au kubadilisha mawazo ya watu walioko nje ya Kanisa Katoliki au kubadili vyote viwili kwa namna fulani.
XII. SABABU YA SINODI KUITISHWA
Ni katika mazingira haya ya mmomonyoko wa wafuasi kwa sababu za kiitikadi, Papa Francis ameandaa dodoso la Sinodi ya 16 ya Maaskofu na kuuliza swali lifuatalo, kati ya mengine:
"Ni hatua gani ambazo Roho Mtakatifu anatualika kuchukua ili tuweze [kusafiri pamoja bila kumwacha binadamu yeyote nyuma na hatimaye] kukua wakati wa 'safari ya pamoja'”?
Maneno yaliyo kwenye mabano ya mraba, yaani "kusafiri pamoja bila kumwacha mtu yeyote nyuma na hatimaye", ni yangu.
Ni kwa ajili ya kufafanua swali hili, watu kama vile Robert Wuthnow (1993) wameandika kitabu kinachojadili changamoto zinazolikabili Kanisala Karne ya 21, kwa kuzigawanya katika makundi makubwa yafuatayo: changamoto za kitaasisi, kimaadili, kiimani, kisiasa, na kiutamaduni.
Lakini, katika andiko hili nimejaribu kupanua wigo wa matatizo anayoyajadili Wuthnow (1993) ili kuonyesha kwa mpigo matawi yote ya changamoto husika ndani ya mti wa uhalisia kuhusu Mungu, Binadamu, Jamii na Ulimwengu baki.
Kwa ujumla, kuna mageuzi makubwa inabidi kufanyika ili kukamilisha ndoto ya Papa Francis aliyeanzisha mchakato huu.
Ni mageuzi ambayo yatafanyika katikati ya mseto wa itikadi anwai. Baadhi zikiwa ni itikadi za kidini wakati zingine sio itikadi za kidini, kama tulivyoona hapo awali.
XIII. HITIMISHO NA MAPENDEKEZO
Papa Francis ameanzisha utafiti mkubwa katika wakati mwafaka. Ni wakati ambapo minyukano ya kiitikadi duniani imepamba moto kwa kiwango ambacho kinalitaka Kanisa Katoliki kujitathmini kwa namna ambayo italiacha imara zaidi katika ti ya mawimbi hayo ya kiitikadi.
Yafaa Kanisa Katoliki litumie fursa hii kufanya tathmini ya itikadi yake katika maeneo yote kuhusiana na mti wa uhalisia kuhusu Mungu, Binadamu, Jamii na Ulimwengu baki.
Yaani, Kanisa lisafishe nyumba yake kwa kufagia, kudeki na kukarabati vyumba vyote vilivyomo katika chujio la itikadi lente vipengele 60 kama lilivyojadiliwa hapo juu.
Na kama majawabu yatakayokusanywa yatafanyiwa kazi, yanaweza kuleta mabadiliko makubwa ndani ya Kanisa Katoliki kutokana na msukumo ulioanzia ndani ya Kanisa lenyewe. Hoja zangu, kipengele kwa kipengele, kuhusiana na vipengele 60 nilivyotaja hapo juu zitawekwa chini ya uzi huu hatua kwa hatua kulingana na kasi ya utafiti itakavyoruhusu.
Hatimaye natarajia kuona Kanisa Jipya baada ya sinodi ya 2023, yaani Kanisa linalofanya mambo yake kirazini, pasipo mikanganyiko ya kimantiki, migongano ya kimetafizikia wala mikanganyiko ya kimaadili.
XIV. MAREJEO MUHIMU
Kwa ajili ya kuandika makala hii nimetumia marejeo mengi, lakini yaliyo muhimu zaidi ni haya yafuatayo, na mengi nimeambatanisha nakala tepe kwa ajili ya kujibu changamoto za kiepistemolojia kutoka kwa wasomaji:
- Alexander R. Pruss (2013), One Body: An Essay in Christian Sexual Ethics (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press) (Attached)
- Beau Branson (2014), The Logical Problem of the Trinity, A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Notre Dame in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
- Bernard Lonergan (1956), Insight: A Study of Human Understanding (New York: Philosophical Library Inc.).
- Brian Dive (2020), Accountability and Leadership in the Catholic Church: What Needs to Be Improved (UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing). (Attached)
- Brian Walsh and J. Richard Middleton (1984), The Transforming Vision: Shaping a
Christian Worldview, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity). - CAO Qingyun(2015), "Aristotle on the Unity of Composite Substance," Front. Philos. China. 10.3: 457-473.
- David A. Noebel and Jeff Myers (2015), Understanding the Times: A Survey of Competing Worldviews,1st Ed. (Manitou Springs, Colorado: Summit Press, 2015). (Attached)
- James W. Sire (2009), The Universe Next Door: The Worldview Catalogue (InterVarsity Press). (Attached)
- James Olthuis (1989), “On Worldviews,” In: Paul A. Marshall, Sander Griffioen, and Richard J. Mouw, (Eds.), Stained Glass: Worldviews and Social Science (Lanham, Md: University Press of America, 1989), pp. 26-40, at 29.
- James W. Sire (2015), Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept, 2nd Edition (Illinois: InterVarsity Press) (Attached)
- John Rawls(1987), "The Idea of an Overlapping Consensus," Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 7.1:1-25.
- Joshua Hoffman and Gary S. Rosenkrantz (1998), "On The Unity Of Compound Things: Living And Non-Living," Ratio 11.3: 289-315. (Attached)
- Kabuye Uthman Sulaiman(2018), "Meaning, Classification, Epistemological Foundation and Significance of Worldview," Scholars Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences," 6.7:1318-1327.
- Manning, P. R. (2018). Disintegrating Worldviews and the Future of Catholic Education: Addressing the Deep Roots of Catholic Disaffiliation. Journal of Catholic Education, 21(2): 26-52.
- Rebekah Johnston (2013), "Marriage and the Metaphysics of Bodily Union: Framing the Marriage Debate," Social Theory and Practice, 288-313, at 296-98.
- Robert P. George (2001), The Clash Of Orthodoxies: Law, Religion, and Morality in Crisis (Wilmington, Delaware: ISI Books). (Attached)
- Robert Wuthnow (1993), Christianity in the Twenty-first Century: Reflections on the Challenges Ahead (New York: Oxford University Press). (Attached).
- Tuomas E. Tahko (2009), "The Law of Non-Contradiction as a Metaphysical Principle," The Australasian Journal of Logic, 7:32-47.
- William Lane Craig and Quentin Smith (1995), Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology (Oxford: OUP). (Attached)
