Henry Akubuiro
The Self-Birth of Goods, Chris Christian, Shekinah Media House, Lagos, pp. 80
It is only through seeking that we can be revealed, for we are hidden in ourselves, waiting to be revealed. Needless to say, self-birth is an uncommon experience meant strictly for self-seekers. This introductory remarks by Pastor Chris Christian ushers us into The Self-birth of God, a religious work meant to explain the inevitability of incarnate men.
He makes us realise that, while Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, in turn, Jesus gave birth to Christ. This is because destinies of men are preserved by whatever they gave birth to. The self-birth that produces gods from men is a unique experience that is reserved only for the incarnate men, says the author.
He writes: “God functions on earth from His houses in men. It is only gods that can function effectively for God. God consorts with gods. Through self-birth, incarnate men give birth to the second person of their thought.”
Christian is not deliberately esoteric. He is one man of God who doesn’t put pen to paper until he hears from God. Regarded as the most prolific Nigerian author, he churns out books regularly that it is easy to lose count of them, yet he keeps swelling his ouevre of Christian books, providing ample materials for both the clergy and the congregation to appreciate the deeper meanings of the word.
The Self-birth of Gods is a book in ten chapters in which he treats issues relating to the theme the book. From the enlightenment of self-birth to how God produces gods from men and how to understand the self-birth of the Lion of Judah, he enjoins us to put ears to the ground for more.
His book is also concerned with how you can make yourself to see God. It makes you aware of the travails of self-birth, as well as the self-birth of the Lamb of God. Besides, the book explains how you can learn from yourself, the visionary life of gods, nay, the controversial second coming of Jesus Christ.
While Jesus the Son of Man introduced Christ the Son of God to the earth, Christ introduced Jesus to God, says the book. The reason why the self-birth of Jesus Christ was possible, it says, is because of the dove eyes of His fixed heart.
Moreover, we are all meant to give birth to the second person of our thought, and, if it will be possible, we must pay enough attention to ourselves. The author echoes that self-birth is the greatest privilege of all men in the whole eternity. “The brightest light shines on earth from the self-birth of incarnate men. In fact, the enlightenment of self-birth is the highest form of enlightenment. Those who know what the future holds for them will always know where to invest their lives,” he writes.
It must be pointed out that “gods” as used in this book, do not refer to Amadioha or Ogun but those who have achieved a certain spiritual transcendence that make them rare breeds, holding a special place in God’s heart.
For instance: “Although … Moses was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, the enlightenment that made him a god was far more superior to the ordinary learning from Egypt. It is the personal learning of self-teachers that produce gods from mere men.”
Christian’s book preaches that every form of enlightenment that ignited men’s world uniquely was produced from the rebirth of men and God hides himself in men and waits to be birthed. Furthermore, the ideological enlightenment that produces men must involve ideological enlightenment. He cites the unbreakable fellowship of Moses with the Spirit of the Law as what produced a god from him.
Reverend Chris Christian is categorical that, through soul travail, we are all meant to give birth to our real selves. The journey of God, he affirms, started in Africa and will surely end in Africa. But, then, travailers must be born.