Mr. Onyango-Obbo,

I strongly detest your article which appeared in The Monitor on 05/09/2007 titled "Brothers, sisters, hear me; even gays will enter heaven". (readers can find a copy here -Ed) I have two points to make. Firstly, your article is not balanced. It favours gays over those who, in your own words, have unreasoning fear of homosexuality. I would advise you to seek and gain some understanding of what being born again is about in particular, why those who profess to be born again hate homosexuality. Perhaps, this might help you to come up with a balanced point of view. Please note that born again Christians hate the act (homosexuality) NOT the people who practice it (homosexuals).

Secondly, you mentioned that Jay Bakker, a young American Pastor, is drawing large crowds into his church. You explained and I quote, "his message is that you can be gay, have an abortion, and still be a great Christian. And they are flocking to him in their thousands. You can ostracise gays from your church ... In the end, it will be futile, because God will not slam the doors in their faces". You also said, "and the book he always has in front of him is a Bible". Could you please point out where exactly in the Bible is written that you can be gay, have an abortion, and still be a great Christian? Additionally, could I ask you a personal question? Is a man's anus a sex organ?

Yes, Jay Bakker's church may be exploding with growth but let me share one of Jesus' parables with you. When great multitudes gathered together to Him, Jesus said:

"The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 'An enemy did this,' he replied. The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn'
(Matthew 13:24-30).

I would like to tackle the issue of homosexuality and abortion as God sees it as opposed to how man sees it. The Bible says that it is an abomination for a man to lie with a man as with a woman or a woman to lie with a woman as with a man (Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13). The Bible also says that because of certain abominations, such as homosexuality, a land will vomit out its inhabitants (Leviticus 18:25). The Apostle Paul called it "shameful", the result of being given up by God to "vile passions" (Romans 1:24-27).

In the Old Testament, those who practice these things were removed from the congregation of Israel by execution. We are told in the New Testament that those who practice homosexuality will not enter the kingdom of God (1 Corithians 6:9,10). The Apostle Paul shows homosexuality as a final order of rebellion against God. When people exchange the truth of God for a lie, and begin to worship the creature instead of the creator, they are given up to evil. When values are turned upside down and moral anarchy appears, men burn with lust for other men and women burn for women, and they will receive in their own bodies the punishment for their actions (Romans 1:22-27). From a biblical standpoint, the rise of homosexuality is a sign that a society is in the last stages of decay.

Abortion is definitely wrong! It is the taking of a human life, for the Bible shows that life begins at conception. God fashions us when we are still in our mother's womb (Psalms 139:13). Prophet Jeremiah and the Apostle Paul were called by God before they were born (Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15). John the Baptist leaped in his mother's womb when the voice of Mary, the mother of Jesus, was heard (Luke 1:44). Obviously, children in the womb have spiritual identity. From the moment of conception there is a progression of development that continues through adulthood. God condemned the Israelites who were offering their children as sacrifices to the heathen god Molech. Such children were burned up in the fires of sacrifice (Leviticus 20:2), offered to a god of sensuality and convenience. The same is occurring today, and by acting this way we are saying that human beings are not worth anything. This is a terrible blot on our society.

In conclusion, you are a trillion times wrong to say that even gays will enter heaven. Listen brother: gays WILL NOT enter heaven unless they repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. Why? This is what God says, "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9,10). God also says, "As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O you people?" (Ezekiel 33:11).

Yes, we may be living in the 21st century and things may have changed to reflect our modern way of life, but God cannot and will not change his words or ways to fit in with our so-called modern lifestyle. The bible says, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate" (1 Corinthians 1:18,19).

A slave of God.

Dear "slave of God", you have really struggled to get out the message for almost a year so you must feel that this is so important. And hopefuly Mr Obbo will now give you audience as his email is usually published with his articles in Monitor. You know saved people can convert you unwittingly so maybe the good gentleman is wisely lying low to avoid accidental conversion.

There is a very good friend of mine who is a mulokole and always tells me to get saved. According to him, all I have to do to enter heaven is accept Jesus. But now it seems you are saying that is not enough because if someone does certain acts they will be locked out. So me I have some homework to ask my friend again which is the real truth, do we go to heaven because of accepting Jesus, or because of having no sin? Can I enter by avoiding those deadly sins you mentioned but refusing to join these balokole churches? If I am a very good mulokole all my life and I become gay on the night before I die, or I deliberately do a forbidden sin just a few seconds before I die, what will happen?

Radio Katwe editor

I would like to make additions here to the response of the "Slave of God" to Onyango Obbo's piece and the resultant comment by the RK editor.

First I must make it clear that I'm not a Christian.

Then on Obbo's article; I guess the great writer got it all wrong. His lopsided imagination, unless of course it was a style of writing, is that flocking to a church secures one a lift to heaven. That is similar to saying a mere entering a lecture room would secure you a degree!

Onyango Obbo should have thought deeper and recognised that the availability of a church, a mosque, a temple, a synagogue, etc, is to give mankind a canopy under which they can seek divine inspiration and enrichment. It is not the end position in which one's entry to heaven is pronounced. Wrong.

Entry to heaven is dependent on the development of spiritual qualities that make you divinely noble. After all if it was just going to church, period, then even our thieving leaders, political murderers and tyrants, would be assured of a taste in the heavenly banquet. How many times do these hypocrites invoke the name of God, appear in churches laden with regalia acquired through theft, follow summons by the priests (some, I must agree, of who are not so clean either) and go back to order killings or steal from public coffers.

To ignore a simple fact that homosexuals have deliberately rejected to recognise the admonishment in the Bible against those who practice this vice is indeed choosing to be blind. I'm not a Christian but I know the bible prohibits this. So if these chaps are blatantly breaking the laws in the holy book they claim to seek contentment from, how would they expect to be welcomed to heaven?

And to the editor: Accepting Jesus is not just a summarised proclamation that Jesus is your saviour as stated now and then. Accepting Jesus; and I hope this is what your friend meant, means recognising His station and pledging an unreserved readiness to abide by His teachings and His laws.

These two are very central points in a true recognition of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately followers of The Christ seem content that a mere proclamation of one's acceptance of Jesus as her/his personal saviour is enough to declare your sinlessness and secure you a ticket to the hallowed gardens of heaven. Wrong.

Etome

On "Slave of God" message to Onyango-Obbo and RK Editor's question

Dear RK editor,
I am grateful for the opportunity to have the Word of God on your website. It is actually the lack of the fear of God and violation of His commands that is causing Uganda and the entire world problems. I am thrilled by the slave of God's article, your response and Etome's insightful addition. Mr. Bakker's message has no Biblical foundation. It is a myth/heresy that does not surprise me, since such teachers are expected, and will always get an audience as the Bible clearly warns in 2 Timothy 4: 3-4, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." Not all that speak in the Name of God are actually speaking on God's behalf or authority. "I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds." Jeremiah 23: 21-22. Mr. Editor Sir,there are also "Bayaye" pastors and prophets out there!

Actually, the answer to your question is well laid out in the two contributor's master pieces. I will add that accepting Jesus is enough, as your mulokole friend advises. This is to the extent that when you accept someone into your life, you will be careful not to do what would spoil the relationship, by taking note of what they don't like and avoiding it as well. Fortunately, unlike us humans, the Bible clearly lays out how to maintain the relationship, as well as giving you the power of the Holy Spirit to help out with our weaknesses. That is not all; there is also a provision to sort out our imperfections, through abiding forgiveness, even as is in the LORD's prayer (Matthew 11:1-11). Many people make the mistake of simply accepting Jesus as their saviour, without accepting Him as their LORD as well, this is the problem, and this is the root of hypocrisy. Thus, they want Him to solve their problems, without allowing Him to take charge of their affairs and to guide them as to how to live their lives. It's like wanting a computer or machine to help you solve your problems, without adhering to the manufacture's instructions. God being the "manufacturer" of humans know what is best for them to function in harmony and after wards move on to eternity. To answer your question directly, Yes, just as a spouse can divorce their lovely one for infidelity, God will kick out hypocritical, un-repentant, so-called believers on the last day. Jesus clearly warns us in this essence in Mattew 7: 22-24, "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."

Even the Apostle Paul also hinted on this great reality that bears no exceptions. For he wrote, "Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize - Corinthians 9:26-27 The same message is translated in the Amplified version of the Bible as follows: "Therefore I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary. But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit]." If the holy apostle could watch out, how much more should we! Fortunately, if we are willing to let God have His way in our lives, He gives us the strength and grace to make it to heaven. For He looks at the sacrifice of the Christ and clothes us with His Son's righteousness and accepts us on that basis. Thus, Mr RK editor, you do not need to fear to take up your friend's challenge, for God Himself is well able to enable you do His will, if you have a willing heart. The only problem is resistance, but the grace is available. "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." - Isaiah 1: 18-20. The last statement is quite scaring, but here is the reality: God loathes throwing anyone in hell, but He cannot break His word and the heavenly constitution. God also says, "As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O you people?" -Ezekiel 33:11. Over to you now, Dear RK editor and precious readers.

Diaspora reader

Dear Editor, Again thanks so much for the great work you are doing for assisting the the voiceless to air their views in the defence of our beloved country.

This time round my comment is in response to the article by filed by the ''slave of God''s question to Onyango Obbo. While I appreciate the great work you do and the committment you express in giving every voice a chance in our website, I am of the view that we should keep focussed on the main agenda of fighing for democracy and good governance in our country.

In my estimation, while my dear brother, 'the slave of God' is making a very important point, in reacting to mr. Obbo's opinion, Iam of the view that these opinions have a wide room elsewhere where they can be discussed. I stand to be corrected but in my view we should reserve Radio Katwe for exclusively that information or those views which would otherwise have no public forum for an open or public debate. For issues like homosexuality and heaven affairs I think we are still enjoying the freedom of discussing them publicly without fear. Especially if the 'slave of God' raised this issue almost a year back and Mr. Obbo has never come back to him, may be Onyango obbo realised that he had lost the debate and gave it a break. Why should this brother of mine now continue with ths issue on Radio Katwe? Shouldnt it be more appropriate for the him to go back to the Monitor News paper and continue there with his debate?

In this critical time as the dictator is fiercely raping our country,I would suggest that we leave Radio Katwe to focus on issues effecting our country. Especially in view of the absence of any other forum on which we can address such issues like human rights abuses, killing of innocent people, courruption, and the rest. Lets keep focused.
Thanks,

Munassingo

Dear Radio Katwe COO wrote this piece way back in 2000 and it makes a lot of sense about Museveni. We seem to be on the recieving end of what COO aptly reffered to as the Rwakitura Empty Bagger.

Please read on.

Inside And Outside Museveni's Envelope Who, when, why, how Kaguta gives
From The Monitor, Sept. 27, 2000
By Charles Onyango-Obbo

Ever since President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni went to Akokoro, Apac, and gave the family of his arch foe, exiled former president Milton Obote Shs 10m, he has got a lot of stick.

Museveni also promised to pay rent arrears for Obote's house in Lira that the UPDF has occupied for 14 years and wrecked.

The Obote family in exile has rejected the gestures, calling them a witch's offerings and blaming President Museveni for the "uniformed men" who murdered Obote's father, the late Mzee Opeto.

Since Obote's parents are both dead, the money was given to the brother Obadiah Akaki. While Obote's family abroad and Uganda Peoples Congress pooh pooh the offer as a cynical political bribe because Museveni's political troubles are mounting, and he wants to renew himself by having the "Obote thing" rub off on him, Obote's enemies think he was such a bad ruler, he doesn't deserve it.

This however is missing the big picture. Though I too is cynical, it is important to recognise that Obote's family are not the first relatives of a controversial ex-ruler to benefit from presidential largesse. Idi Amin's wife Medina Amin, got some money from the government and the state helped restore to her property which had been grabbed after she fled with her husband in 1979. Her rent is paid for by the state, and the government takes care of many of Amin's children.

Museveni also sorted out exiled former president Godfrey Binaisa's people. Not to mention that Binaisa personally got a fat cheque from Kampala to help him pay his debts and return home. He cheated Museveni by cashing it and staying in America denouncing the president.

And Museveni has taken care of the family of first National Resistance Movement chairman and former president Yusuf Lule, except the outspoken and maverick MP Wasswa Lule.

The family of first president and king of Buganda, Freddie Mutesa, has also been sorted out by Kaguta. In the case of Buganda, not only have many royals eaten out of Museveni's hands, but he even gave Kabaka Ronnie Kabaka a kingdom, diminished though it might be.

We can see that the Obote family got the presidential envelope last. And apparently they got the least.

The Akokoro event was therefore not isolated, and Museveni is quite methodical. We are, to sum it, watching the "Art of the Presidential Envelope" in progress. A level of expertise is needed in handing out the stuffed envelope. Museveni's practice gives us some insight into how grandmasters play the game.

1. This is not Museveni's money. It's from presidential donations, voted by Parliament every year. In short, it is for politics; for the President to buy goodwill, and therefore votes. These are the fruits of incumbency. Therefore the presidential envelope must be given publicly.

2. The fact that the envelope is given publicly, determines another key element in this game - how much is given. If the Obote family had been given Shs 500m, there would have been riots in some parts of the country. And if they had been offered Shs 1m, Museveni would have looked ridiculous and it could easily have been rejected. Shs 10m is neither too much, nor too little. The challenge for any president is to find the perfect "sweet and sour" point. As a by the way, when Museveni wants to give big money, he does it quietly. Some people have received Shs 100m Entandikwa from the big man, and there hasn't been a squeak about it.

3. Next, there is the issue of "how" to give it. There are five approaches here:

(i) There is the "hands on" stroke. Here the President gives the money himself. This Museveni usually reserves for emotional moments and the simple folk, who can only appreciate that the money is from him when he hands it to them himself. We saw this last year during his "long march" in Luwero when he was retracing the steps of his rebel National Resistance Army. When he met old women that used to know him in Luwero, for example, he handed out the money as the old fellows knelt by the roadside (this is what we presidential watchers call the "Museveni Roadside Fix").

(ii) Another favourite time when Museveni gives the money himself is when he is hopping about with traditional dancers. We call this "buko" in my Jap language (in English "blowing"). This is the "Kaguta Musical Flip". This is a big vote sweeper, because it presents the President as a man of culture, and helps him wrap himself in the tradition of past generous chiefs.

Interestingly, the Museveni Roadside Fix and Kaguta Musical Flip are the most slippery acts of presidential alm giving. You will have noticed that it is rarely more than Shs 200,000. If it is too much, it can cause division among the people during the sharing and break up a traditional dance troupe. And it could be worse. Since every member of the troupe gets a cut of the money, if it's a lot and each one ends up taking away a lot, they could be attacked by thieves.

The trick is to hand out enough for everyone to get "little enough" and, most importantly, to keep them anticipating the President's next visit.

(iii) Then there is the "hands off" approach. Here the president doesn't actually hand over the money himself. At most he just places his hands on the brown envelope like some high priest, and an aide, minister, or a sidekick passes it on. In the case of the Obote family, for example, the brown bag was being handled by Jovina Akaki, minister of State for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities. Because one other person passes on the envelope or bag, we call this the "Museveni Plus One Stroke".

This is deliberate. It is a posture assumed when Museveni is aware that there are some of his supporters out there who might have reservations. The president's body language is supposed to indicate that he is not sinking too low, and isn't grovelling.

(iv) This leaves two other approaches to consider. The president sometimes appears at rallies, or visits people and he is asked to help. Sometimes he turns to an aide and tells him or her in the hearing of everybody, to make an appointment for a group leader to see him, or instructs the official to give the person money. This can turn out to be frustrating. Presidential security might never let you into President's Office or State House to collect your goods. Or it might take over a year for you to get the money (or the bridge or road for that matter). Because of this uncertainty, we call this the "Yoweri Cliff Hanger".

(v) And the one that everyone should dread. Here the president turns not to an aide in State House, but to a minister who is sitting near him, say minister of Finance Gerald Sendaula, and tells him to "look into it". Like when he told Sendaula that all Co-operative Bank depositors should be paid their money, or that all pensioners must be paid their arrears over the next two years.

In all probability, this money will never come. When Museveni does that, you know that he has supplied you air. Which is the reason we presidential watchers call that move the "Rwakitura Empty Bagger".

from http://www.charlesobbo.com