Ogun and God
Ogun Kills on the Right is an ancient oral poem describing the Nigerian god Ogun. I got the text of the poem from http://www.primenet.com/~jai/. You can also find some additional information about the poem there.
Ogun Kills on the Right
Ogun kills on the right and destroys on the right.
Ogun kills on the left and destroys on the left.
Ogun kills suddenly in the house and suddenly in the field.
Ogun kills the child with the iron with which it plays.
Ogun kills in silence.
Ogun kills the thief and the owner of stolen goods.
Ogun kills the owner of the house and paints the hearth with his blood.
Ogun is the forest god.
He gives all his clothes to the beggars.
He gives one to the woodock--who dyes it in indigo.
He gives one to the coucal--who dyes it in camwood.
He gives one to the cattle egret--who leaves it white.
Ogun's laughter is no joke.
His enemies scatter in all directions.
The butterflies do not have to see the leopard...
they scatter in all directions!
Master of iron, chief of robbers,
you have water, but you bathe in blood.
The light shining in your face is not easy to behold.
Ogun, with the bloody cap, let me see the red of your eye.
Ogun is not like pounded yam:
do you think you can knead him in your hand
and eat of him until you are satisfied?
Do you think Ogun is something you can throw into your cap
and walk away with it?
Ogun is a mad god
who will ask questions after seven hundred and eighty years.
Ogun has pity on me:
whether I can reply, or whether I cannot reply:
Ogun don't ask me anything!
The lion never allows anybody to play with his cub.
Ogun will never allow his child to be punished.
Ogun do not reject me!
Does the woman who spins ever reject a spindle?
Does the woman who dyes ever reject a cloth?
Does the eye that sees ever reject a sight?
Ogun, do not reject me.
To those that suppose that they have the charge of wickedness to bring against God:
Let us for a moment suppose that our triune God was actually this Ogun. He kills on the right, destroys on the left, kills the thief and the owner of stolen goods, the master of the house and his child. He paints the walls with the blood of those he has killed in silence. Your case would then be very strong. Surely, he would be a cruel and evil God.
But even if this were so, how would you bring an accusation against God? Will you claim your inalienable right to life? What will you say to him? That he shouldn't kill so many people? That it is wrong to destroy indiscriminately? That he should listen to you, who have lived so many years, who know better than to do such things? Will you put him in your cap and walk away with him? What do you think Ogun is, pounded yam?
Indeed, were this the case, you would know that to see the red eyes of Ogun is no laughing matter. You would be lucky to be able to affirm that Ogun has pity on you. In the face of Ogun's murderous actions, you would only be able to beg, "Ogun, do not reject me", prostrate next to the Nigerian native. Perhaps he will spare you. Perhaps he will bathe in your blood.
The book of Job tells us the same truth: God is righteous, if only because he is powerful. How will you bring an accusation against him, when you realize that if God so wished, your own mouth, and even your heart, would confess that you had been in error? To whom or what will you appeal, to judge between your morals and God's? What is good if not God? If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! Would you be able to deal with even the Leviathan on the basis of your own superior morals or strength? How then will you contend with its creator?
Surely, if God were evil, then his might would create right.
Of course, on the one hand because he could not be otherwise, but on the other hand to our infinite relief, God is good. He is righteous, not only because he is powerful, but because he always acts in accordance with his righteous attributes. But this is no comfort to those among you who imagine yourselves more righteous than God. If this is you, you may first attempt to win over Ogun with your moral standards. Perhaps the Lord will then have an audience with you, pending your survival.
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