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The Pilgrim, July 22, 2022*
If
you know anything about life, you’ll agree with me that one of the most
arrogant and stubborn people in the world is the atheist. Not even a woman in
love—who may believe that her man, though a serial killer, is the most
wonderful and interesting person—can hold a candle to them.
The
same is especially true if the atheist in question is a polymath and
cosmopolitan, which is to say that they have vast knowledge about many subjects
and have travelled extensively around the world.
I
know this for a fact because I encountered such a person in my early teenage
years in Ndola and he captured my imagination, though not in his capacity as an
atheist, but in his singular distinction as one of Zambia’s longest serving and
distinguished print journalists of all time.
His
name, Terence Mwansa Musuku, may not ring a bell today but those who have been around
long enough remember his byline featuring prominently in the halcyon days of
Zambian journalism in the Zambia Daily Mail and Times of Zambia. I
speak of those days when newspapers exceeded print runs of over 60,000 copies
and when journalism was one of the most fashionable professions around.
Musuku
belonged to that galaxy of talented journalists like Samu Zulu, Alfred Mulenga,
Gerald Mulwanda and Martin Musunka. Their era was epoch-making.
In
the case of Musuku, he was among pioneer Black trainee journalists at Evelyn
Hone College, when the institution was declared multi-racial in 1964.
By
the time I knew him in 2011 or so, Musuku had practiced journalism for nearly
50 years. Following many years of reading and global exposure, he had rubbished
all religions and found Christians particularly deluded. Nobody could change his
mind, not even myself, or my father, who for many years was a popular and
pioneer preacher in Ndola.
Musuku’s
twilight years as a journalist were spent at Solwezi Today, under late
journalist Musunka, where he was still able to produce compelling journalistic
pieces which had come to set him apart in his prime. I opened a file about him
where I kept all these memorable articles. By osmosis, I learnt the tools of
the trade from him, and he became the first person to open my mind to the world
of politics after he lent me books about historical figures such as Kwame
Nkrumah and Winston Churchill. His own home was a journalistic museum, with trunks
of his books and media awards.
In
a blow-by-blow account published in the Times of Zambia, Musuku recounted that
it was in 1980 when he became an out-and-out atheist and stated his reasons.
In
his words: “If God commands omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence,
according to Biblical teaching, it is so hard to understand why God has allowed
the existence of Satan simultaneously. One reason.
“Second
reason: I questioned the interminability Christian believers keep observing for
resurrection of mankind. Now well-over 2,000 years!
“Third
reason: Jesus Christ made a categorical declaration: nobody can go to Heaven,
but only through Him as the son of God. But what would happen to mass-billions
of humanity born before the birth of Jesus Christ?
“Fourth
reason: To attain the new life guaranteed in resurrection, one must command
mental faculty to understand the Biblical teachings. What about those born with
mental deficiency?
“Fifth
reason: With human mental ability, who qualifies to determine the rightful
religion among all claimant religions in the world? Every religion, one thing
and commonly, claims its scriptural book as written with God inspiration!”
But
these are views Musuku himself has since renounced after a rare spiritual
encounter in his home, where he reportedly saw God and lay prostrate before him
at the age of 80.
Of
course, I couldn’t believe my eyes when the announcement from him popped up in
my email. It came in handy because my column has recently dealt with the
subject of atheism, not only in Zambia, but also in the United States. I just
didn’t think that the latest convert would be Musuku.
Such
was his ecstatic narration: “I sat alone, late night, in the lounge waiting to
watch a world –title boxing bout scheduled taking place in US. Got tired of
waiting, I stood up to go and sleep.
In
trice, I became sightless! For about 20 minutes I was groping, trudging towards
the bedroom. The first time, in 80 years of my life, I was tangling in
sightless melancholy.
On
entering my bedroom God, in no time, restored my sight. My wife Cecilia was
then sleeping. What ensued-the seeing God together with Jesus Christ. In full
response.
For
another 20 minutes, I found myself spell-bound by physical presence of God. God
was on the right and Jesus Christ on the left. No talking, no smiling, I was
just swooning away in God`s love, goodness, Ultra-Might, Power as the creator
of Earth and mankind.
From
my encounter with God, in physical reality, God truthfully created mankind in
His own image. Precisely, God like his son Jesus Christ, hardly looked
different from the looks of human beings.
One
thing more, during my 20 minutes encounter with God, on the spur of the moment
I got inspired and filled with extra ordinary knowledge God is venerated for,
worshipped and esteemed in the highest.
Absorbing
the striking Godly supremacy in physical disposition, the ins and outs,
constituting the All- Mighty Powers on Earth and Heaven, I have a tale too
touching to tell. I feel inclined trekking in the footsteps of the Biblical,
Apostle Paul.”
For
a Christian family that has waited seemingly in vain for this moment, this set
the hearts of the Musukus astir.
While
Musuku admits that his epiphany did not lead him to a specific church or
religion, he faces a challenge true of many converts, who first must read the
Bible and learn about the mercies of God. This eases integration into a strong
and honest local Christian community.
I
may have learnt of this confession a little late, but it further strengthened
my own convictions about God and Jesus Christ as the sole creator and savior of
the world.
*This column is published every Friday in Zambia's leading newspaper, the Zambia Daily Mail.
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