I was reminded of that apt bonmot by a senior diplomat in Liberia again when I saw photos from the inside of Charles Taylors residence, the so-called White Flower, in a newspaper recently.
As a devout disciple of Christ, Mr. Taylor of course had his private chapel for intimate conversations with the redeemer. Most likely this is where the Lord told him to keep up the good work he was doing for Liberia, and continue with plunder, rape, murder and all the other virtues he so amply possessed. And the Lord is still with him. How else could it be explained that his family and friends hosted an intercessory prayer service in January of this year in a Monrovia church, requesting the Lord to intervene and free the good Mr. Taylor from the unfair trial in the Hague that this friend of his people is unfairly subjected to? Being such a good Christian however, Mr. Taylor recently asked the court to be spared an appearance on Saturday because his religion prohibited him to work on Saturday.
But in Liberia, God is also employed in personnel vendettas. The “Reverend” Brima Fartoma is accused of having planned and instigated the gruesome murder of “Bishop” Alfred Quoa. The prosecution claims that the late “Bishop” was lured out of his home by an accomplice of “Reverend” Fartoma and then hacked to death with machetes.
Still “Reverend” Fartoma knows himself to be a true servant of the Lord, who can call in a favor if needed. “You will rot in hell” he shouted to a journalist who dared to take his photo while the good “Reverend” was led to a prison van. “I am placing a curse on you from today. You will rot in hell for taking my picture”. (New Democrat, 24.06.2008, Monrovia, Liberia, p.1).
And who could ever forget that fine example of christian morals, Samuel K. Doe ? After disemboweling President Tolbert, and killing 14 of his closest aides and ministers, this god-fearing mean worried so much about the moral decay of Liberia that he used his 1985 Address to the Nation to lament the loss of Christian virtues. Never mind that he was also an avid follower of juju, claiming that his powerful charms made him immune to bullets. So in order to get the nation back on the small path to righteousness and the heavenly kingdom, he “decided to reinstate the teachings of religious education in all public schools of the country” (Samuel K. Doe, Address to the Nation 1985, printed version, p.15).
To me the continuous misuse of religion and the name of God in Liberia without any form of divine retribution to the perpetrators is sufficient and conclusive evidence that God does not exist, indeed.
