© 2016 Robert Mondange
© 2016 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
| The Urantia Book in Burkina Faso | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 76 — December 2016 | How to Live with an Open Mind |
Robert Mondange
Since I left the Air Force many years ago, I have personally traveled for humanitarian actions in Ivory Coast, to a village called Assikoi, located 120 km from Abidjan near the town of Adzopé, made famous by Raoul Follereau. In 1995, there were four religions established there: Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, Muslims and of course some typically African religions, which sometimes mix with other religions.
When I discovered the village in 1995, for the installation of a library, the young people asked me for Bibles that I didn’t have, I managed to send them some but with the agreement of the Imam, I also sent Korans. I have been reading the Urantia book for many years, years when it only existed in the form of booklets. I was part of Guy Antequera’s team that you must know. Moreover, I am still in contact with him. To return to my experiences, other religions have often established themselves, often evangelists. I would obviously have liked to talk about our Book, but it is very difficult.
In the village which is essentially agricultural, there are 3 primary schools, a college, a dispensary and the village has been established as a sub-prefecture. For The Urantia Book to be accepted and even for it not to be rejected the task is enormous. On the one hand there are the religions in place which will oppose it, on the other hand there are illiterate people, people whose level of knowledge does not give them the means to understand all the concepts of the Book, some scholars who either have their religion, or who contest all the religious foundations. There remain a few young people, very often returned to the village with a BAC in their pocket, who could perhaps be interested in the Book, on condition of managing to “overcome” their involvement in other religions.
I don’t know of a miracle solution to implement the Book. We would have to be on site, something that I can no longer do, and with patience and a lot of time, we could achieve something. Or, try to target a few people in the village, send them a few books, but there is the cost of sending, the problem of customs. So, perhaps if these people read the book, if these people corresponded with a French reader, it would be possible to achieve something. But, there too, there is the problem of Internet access.
As for the city, I don’t know it very well, in Abidjan for example, the problem is very delicate. There are many religions established, with almost a church in each neighborhood, at least in the working-class neighborhoods. It will be very difficult to make our Book known.
A little additional information. In Africa and particularly in Ivory Coast and more precisely in the area that I know, the evangelical Christian religions developed because in the services, there was a lot of singing and dancing. In the Catholic service, the faithful will bring their offerings to the altar while singing and dancing. This is very understandable because in the villages and even in certain neighborhoods of the big cities, essentially working-class neighborhoods, Sunday service is in fact the only “distraction” that people can “afford”. As a result, they combine faith and “distraction”. Once the service is over, often quite long, people go home. It’s hard to say, but it’s the truth.
But, if we want to make the Book known, we must take this fact into account. Another thing, in Ivory Coast, there are a lot of local languages. This is also what explains the length of the services, they are said in French, then in the local language. In the region that I know is Hatier. There is even a tradition of the Bible in the local language and it is not the only place in Ivory Coast. There are Bible translations in Nigerian dialects. So, we must integrate all these parameters, if we want to disseminate the Book. Without counting on illiteracy, animism and witchcraft. However, animism is not a major obstacle.
I would add that many people do not know about the Internet and many do not even have access to it. We must therefore find another solution.
Fraternally.
| The Urantia Book in Burkina Faso | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 76 — December 2016 | How to Live with an Open Mind |