www.sufficientproductions.com sufficient is enough [email protected] ii “ In countries where the state and church are combined, children in schools are taught through a religious curriculum which uses religion to influence them in terms of their responsibilities towards the state as well as those of the state to them. [This set-up ensures that] the children grow without ever learning the basics of human freedoms and rights [therefore] when these are infringed, they have no way to fight to have them back. ” My people perish for lack of knowledge… Hosea 46 iii This is what happened at birth: iv This is what is happening now: v And this is what we call education: The truth shall make you free. John 832 vi SORRY NOT IN SERVICE A Perspective View on Religion, Philosophy, and Governance Pepukai Nguvaichipo Mungaparara vii Dedicated to The Glory of God viii Not in Service A Perspective View on Religion, Philosophy, and Governance © 2019 Pepukai N. Mungaparara All rights reserved. First Edition. Published in June 2019 by Sufficient Productions. 34 New House, 67-68 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8JY, United Kingdom. www.sufficientproductions.com sufficient is enough Disclaimer Statements by the Author: • This book is not a treatise, it is a perspective view; a photograph in time. • My views have been informed and shaped by my reading and interpretation of the works of others who I have tried my best to acknowledge. As far as I know, none of the individual authors or speakers quoted in these writings endorses or shares my overall perspective. • The illustrations in this book were commissioned to encapsulate the ideas explicitly presented in this piece of writing. Any alternative interpretation is unintended; any resemblance to persons living or deceased is purely coincidental. ix Not in Service A Perspective View on Religion, Philosophy, and Governance List of Contents Page Chapter 1: Prologue 1 1.1 From the Author 2 1.2 The Good News 3 1.3 Introduction 7 1.4 Book Aspirations 9 1.5 Questions This Book Aims to Answer 11 Let’s Start with The Truth, Shall Chapter 2: 12 We? 2.1 You Own Nothing... except your will 14 2.1.1 On Will Violation 15 2.1.2 On Cruelty and Respect 19 2.1.3 On Lies and Deceit 27 2.1.4 On Decision-Making 30 2.2 Everything Designed has a Designer 34 2.3 Life is a Gift 37 2.4 All You Need is Love 53 Chapter 3: Guiding Principles from Scripture 57 3.1 Three Question Prescription for Life 58 3.2 Contrasting Christ and the Devil 62 3.3 Growth by Contentment 63 Chapter 4: Forced Choice 67 4.1 Does God Force Our Choice? 70 4.2 Reverse Psychology 81 4.3 Denying Culpability 83 4.4 Forgiveness and the Correction of Imbalance 89 List of Premises so far Established 99 Human Rights Abuses by The Chapter 5: 101 State 5.1 Human Right(s) 102 5.2 Church and State 105 5.3 State Capture: Forced Choice in UK Law 111 5.3.1 Promote and Maintain 112 5.3.2 Parental Rights Erosion and Child 115 Cruelty 5.4 Population Screening 127 x Not in Service A Perspective View on Religion, Philosophy, and Governance List of Contents Page 5.5 Child Protection and the Family Courts 132 5.6 Safeguarding Children 140 5.7 So Medical Practice is a Religion? 153 Chapter 6: Analysis and Application 157 6.1 Why? How About, Where? 158 6.2 Help! 163 6.3 How Do You Do? 174 6.4 The Great Controversy 176 6.5 An Invitation: The End is at Hand 179 6.6 Actionable Steps 183 6.6.1 For the Civil Servant 183 6.6.2 For the Ordinary Citizen 185 6.7 Conclusion and Call 186 References 195 Appendices 200 A1 Statistical Analysis of Children-in-Need 201 Graph A2 Will Violation Case Study 214 A3 Respect is Real-Time: The Four-Way Stop 216 A4 Debunking Excuses: An Exercise 218 A5 Medical Practice as a Tool for Monitoring 221 and Control A6 How Do I Know What is True? 227 A7 Six Testimonies 233 T1 Time 2 Eat 234 T2 “God wants to Talk to Me” 237 T3 “You Don’t Do What Your Enemy Tells 241 You to Do” T4 “Don’t Let Any of them Escape” 243 T5 Little Guy Takes on the Big Guy 244 T6 “Usatya Kana Kuvhunduka” 246 Acknowledgements 250 Point Summary Table : Truths, Lies, Solutions, 253 Three Questions, Bible Gems Index 260 Index of Words 260 Index of Phrases 270 Index of Illustrations 272 Let’s Get It Right This Time 273 xi not in service Pepukai Nguvaichipo Mungaparara Not in Service Not in Service Pepukai Nguvaichipo Mungaparara (2019) Chapter 1 Prologue [1.1] From the Author ………………………………. 2 [1.2] The Good News ……………………………….. 3 [1.3] Introduction ……………………………………… 7 [1.4] Book Aspirations ………………….…………… 9 [1.5] Questions This Book Aims to Answer… 11 1 Not in Service Prologue Pepukai Nguvaichipo Mungaparara (2019) From the Author [1.1] From the Author Within the space of three years I have gone through two significant life experiences that shook me to the core and forced me to re-evaluate my worldview. The insights that I share in this book are the sum of my thought processes and reasoning as I have made critical decisions and watched the outcome of my choices. This book focuses not on what happened, but on what I learnt from what happened. And what is it that I learnt? I learnt that God’s hand is in everything, and that His indeed is a loving hand. He is the true God; He is bigger than all my problems, and He is worthy of all the praise and adoration I can give. That is how this work gets to be dedicated, to the glory of God. 2 Not in Service Prologue Pepukai Nguvaichipo Mungaparara (2019) The Good News [1.2] The Good News I wanted us to start with the good news: “I am born again!” I could say that all day long. Just uttering that statement makes me smile so I will repeat it: “I am born again!” I have been a Christian all my life, but I didn’t know God. I led a somewhat rudderless life, disconnected from God. Despite being a church member in good and regular standing, I never consistently felt that I was on the path that leads to heaven. Only recently, twenty odd years following my baptism, did I get to a point where I can confidently say that I am now on the right track. I cannot say that I know God, but I am on the right track, and knowing that is a wonderful, wonderful feeling. Growing up as a member of an orthodox leaning Christian fellowship, I always felt unsettled when brave Pentecostal Christians would approach me on the street and ask “Sister, are you born again?” (Sigh.) I would always answer “yes” hastily, but the question posed would trigger a bout of questions in my mind: “Am I really born again? What does born again mean? If Jesus were to come today, can I say that I am ready…?” I would quickly dismiss these questions. It never occurred to me to engage with the enquirer beyond my quick “yes” answer, because I was a member of the church. I knew all there was to know about Christ and Christianity. Our church had the truth; so to even listen to the “Philistines”, (as non-members were called)* was, to say the least, a waste of time. I sometimes wonder… if maybe I had engaged with just one of those people sent by God to unsettle me from my untenable settled position, perhaps *In The Bible, the Philistines were a people that did not believe in God. They were many times at war with the Israelites (God’s people). 3 Not in Service Prologue Pepukai Nguvaichipo Mungaparara (2019) The Good News [1.2] I would have come to a knowledge of the truth sooner? I suppose the answer to that question is neither here nor there. What matters is that I finally got to acknowledge the truth; and I am so glad I did. Why is this “Good News”? My being “born again” is good news because I now know for sure that he who has God, and everything else, is no better off than he who has God alone. Meaning, God is all you need. It is good news because now I am free: ‘free from the blight of sorrow, and free from my doubts and fears.’ The Bible says “If the Son therefore shall set you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 836). As a born again Christian, I am at a point where I can say that I am “free indeed.” How did it happen? It was a process of shifting from a settled autopilot mode, to a questioning mode. I found myself faced with a life situation that made my helplessness apparent. I needed God. He was my only hope so I sought Him in earnest. I invested in bluetooth headphones and listened to sermons at every opportunity. The simple reasoning was that before I could understand God’s word, I needed to hear it (Romans 1014). I would watch back-to-back hour- long sermons on YouTube, sometimes as many as five per day. I wanted to saturate myself with the word of God. As I assimilated the truths that I was learning, I found that I was having to re-examine my entire worldview.