We are gradually getting to the final latch of the My Desk Series which has been interesting so far. Today’s piece will be targeted at one of the most trending topics happening in Ghana right now. And so without much beating about the bush, let’s quickly get to the matter on the ground.

National Cathedral and its shenanigans

All forms of arguments and people throwing tantrums over the National Cathedral issue are valid. They are entitled to their opinion and their grievances need to be tabled.

Television discussions are being held for the sake of this issue. Christians in Ghana are being questioned on why they have remained silent. Board of Directors have been assigned to make the vision come true.

Social media cannot sleep over the matter as more and more people lament on the estimated amount of money that will be used to the build the artifact.

Valid questions

The first time I heard about the National Cathedral, it was from a lawyer friend of mine. The questions directed at me were simple. What do I make of the National Cathedral and the choice of location? Why does a person’s personal covenant with God interfere with national issues? Why did high profile citizens have to vacate their residences to make way for a project which was a personal promise to God?

Are Christians going to donate and will I donate to such a project since I was a Christian? Honestly, these questions were legit at the time and it is still relevant now. It was this friend who drew my attention to this trending issue. It has been over a year since we had that conversation and it is not surprising that this issue is still trending till today.

Money we don’t have

Critics have been concerned about the monies being pumped into the cathedral even though it was a personal covenant to God. Heck! All Christians must come on board to support this common agenda to build a temple for the Lord, they say. Did not David do the same in the good books? Why are modern Christians not being considerate with this current mission although they have read of similar covenants in the Bible? But there are genuine concerns over the financial estimates of the project. People need to know what they will be benefiting from this project if they should invest.

National monument

One of the defenses from government so far that makes sense to me is that this edifice will serve as a National monument to attract tourists to the country. Acording to some government spokesmen, the National Cathedral will have very outstanding features such as the depiction of the garden of Eden, a Biblical restaurant, a wailing wall, amongst others. Looks to me like it will be a sight to behold. We cannot wait to see the final project, in the year of our Lord.

Tourism attraction

My concern about attracting tourists is that a temple can serve as a place of worship rather than a tourist site. Then again, I begin to get convinced on how people will like to visit the place for worship but will end up touring the entire edifice just to have a look at what it holds. I hope that it is able to serve this purpose and that maintenance works will be put in place to keep the place in shape.

God’s Kingdom cometh

Some recent demonstrations saw how citizens showcased placards with inscriptions like: A begging country interested in Cathedral than Factories, a shithole country indeed. But how do we differentiate between the essence of a temple of God versus a factory when the other serves a different purpose than the other. I think the reason for this cathedral agenda is that far from offering people job opportunities, we as a people are deeply rooted in religion.

We believe that serving God (gods) will solve about 90 per cent of our problems that hardwork should solve. We are much more interested in the part of the Lord’s Prayer which says, “Thy Kingdom come” rather than, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Just think about it. I’ll be waiting for your interpretation and thoughts on this matter in the comment section.

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