African Plume

“The Husband Must fulfill his Sexual Obligations to his Wife, and Likewise the Wife” By Akin Ojumu Responding to the question the Pharisees asked Him in Matthew 19:3-6, rather than going into the specifics of the marital situations or the varieties of relationships that would exist among people, Jesus instead answered by giving the fundamental principle of marriage. In broad strokes, He painted a picture of the type of marriage that is pleasing to God's eyes. It was an overarching framework for the ideal marriage. Luckily for us, God did not leave the question of marriage and divorce hanging on just what we have in Matthew 19:1-12 or Matthew 5:31-32. Because this subject is near and dear to His heart, God inspired men like Paul to take the picture that Jesus had already painted, expound on it, and apply it to specific situations and various scenarios of relationship that would be formed among people living in a fallen world.  In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, in 1 Corinthians 7:...

“It is Good for a Man Not to Touch a Woman” By Akin Ojumu  Amid the mass hysteria and social media feeding frenzy following the untimely death of Osinachi Nwachukwu, the popular Nigerian gospel singer whose death is allegedly linked to domestic abuse, there are many pondering, “Does God ever allow divorce and remarriage under any circumstances?” As terrible a human tragedy this is for the family of Osinachi, this incidence presents a unique opportunity to ministers of the Gospel to teach the Biblical truth about marriage. Now that the attention of the fickle-minded world is focused on this grievous calamity, those who are shepherds of God's flock ought to step in and correct the errors and misconceptions that pervade the Church on the subject of divorce. Not from the view point of human philosophy or the commonsense of human wisdom but from the Word of God. And this commentary sets out to do just that. To answer the burning question in the minds of the teeming masses, we must turn ...

“The Beatitudes and Newton’s First Law of Motion” By Akin Ojumu In High School, Physics was one of those subjects I had a love-hate relationship with. On the one hand, I loved physics because it fascinated me. At the same time, I hated the subject because I was never good at it. Oddly enough, there are a few things I still remember, to this day, from the physics class. One of them is Newton's Laws of Motion. That’s probably because I had a good physics teacher, who drilled these lessons into our minds. Newton’s First Law of Motion states:  “Every object continues in its state of rest or of uniform motion unless compelled by an external force.”  That is to say, an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will remain in motion at constant speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force. This tendency to resist changes in a state of motion is called inertia. As I was ruminating on the Sermon on the Mount – which is, perhaps, the greatest ser...

On the surface, the SPAC Nation seems like a spark of light in the darkness that has consumed a lost generation. Everything about the Salvation Proclaimers Anointed Church looks divinely inspired. The church was lauded by police for diverting young people from gang culture and they were praised for pulling misguided youths out of the fire of destructive habits. But it was all a lie. This documentary is another example of the grievous atrocities perpetrated in the so-called “churches” by self-proclaimed “men of god” claiming to be doing god’s work. Open your eyes, people. Resist the urge to suppress your ability to reason and think. Desist from allowing yourselves to be violated by frauds in frocks. Quit being prey of ravenous wolves in sheep's clothing. Stop allowing these charlatans with titles of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, GOs, and all whatnot, to continue to defraud you and lead you to eternal damnation. If you call yourself a Christian and this documentary doesn...

“The Manifesto of God’s Kingdom” By Akin Ojumu Launched from the area around the Sea of Galilee, Jesus’s ministry took him around the towns and villages of Galilee. As it was His custom, he went from synagogue to synagogue teaching and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. And he healed every sickness and disease of the people. With neither television advertisements nor radio jingle commercials, his fame spread like wildfire all over Palestine. From all over Israel and even beyond River Jordan, people brought to Him the sick and afflicted, and those possessed of demons. With no made for TV melodrama or Hollywood theatrics, Jesus healed them all. Everywhere he went, multitudes followed him. Among the motley crowds were the afflicted, those hungry for the good news, the brokenhearted hoping and praying for binding, the captives desperate for liberty, and they were the prisoners pleading for freedom. On this occasion, when Jesus saw them, He was moved with compassion. He went up the moun...

Few things excite me more than seeing someone from a humble beginning excel in their field of endeavor. I’m especially thrilled when one of my loved ones achieve great feat. That’s the reason I couldn’t contain my joy when I heard the news that the genius of the Greater Aruntola family was accepted to Yale to pursue her medical career. Guess what? The news that Doyin is going to Yale does not come to me as a surprise. I have always known she is destined for the Ivy Leagues and it was just a matter of time for that to happen. The Greater Aruntola Family congratulate Dr Adedoyinsola Mercy Adewale on her massive accomplishments. We are extremely proud of you for planting the flag of the family in the soil of another Ivy League institution. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors in the medical field. May you continue to soar from heights to even greater heights. Next stop, tenured Professor at Yale Medical School!

“Happiness is found on the Rugged Mountain of the Beatitudes” By Akin Ojumu King Solomon spent the better part of his life in pursuit of happiness. As a hedonist devoted to chasing pleasure, there was nothing he didn’t try to appease the hunger for meaning that burned on his inside. He tried womanizing, winebibbing, and epicurism.  His search took him from being a horticulturist and an environmentalist to a developer, slave trader, and rancher. He acquired great riches and amassed stupendous wealth. At one point in his journey, he tried wisdom and at another point, he turned to foolishness. At the end of it all, the happiness and meaning he sought remained elusive and in none of these things did Solomon find meaning. The more he tried, the further away from him happiness got.  And so, he concluded in Ecclesiastes 2:26: “To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it ove...

  The Greater Aruntola Family would like to thank all those who stood by us during our moments of grief. God bless you all. Please join us for the 1-year Memorial Service: Date: Sunday, April 10, 2022 Time: 2:00pm EST Location: The Kensico Cemetery Grounds, 273 Lakeview Avenue, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA

“Our Futile Pursuit of Happiness” By Akin Ojumu Druk Yul is a tiny nation in Southeast Asia. Also going by the name Bhutan, this Buddhist kingdom on the eastern edge of the Himalayas, sandwiched between India and Tibet, is known for its beautiful monasteries, massive fortresses (or dzongs) and dramatic landscapes that range from subtropical plains to steep mountains and valleys. It's said to be the last remaining Buddhist country in the world. Much has been said about Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index (GNHI). Economists all over the world go gaga about the nine-domain GNHI. Coined in 1972 by the 4th King of Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, when he declared, “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross Domestic Product,” GNHI “is not just a measure of how much people smile and laugh. It’s a holistic approach to sustainable development that gives as much weight to human flourishing as it does wealth” (Sandy LaMotte, CNN).  In the words of Bhutan’s Prime Minister, ...

“Righteousness Makes a Nation Great, Sin Brings it to Ruin” By Akin Ojumu Religion is woven into the fabric of every day life of Nigerians and religiosity is like clothing that the people wear to cover their nakedness. Nigerians love to wrap themselves up in regalia of piety as they preen and primp along in a sanctimonious display of Pharisaical pomposity and Pecksniffian humility. Despite the showy religiosity prevalent among Nigerians, the country remains one of the most dangerous places in the world to live. All over Nigeria, violent crimes are the realities of life and rampageous lawlessness is rife. The people live terrified in their own homes and are petrified at every turn whenever they venture out. The barbaric and sadistic nature of some of the criminal acts reported around the country will scare the living daylights out of the bravest of men. Below are just a sample of some of the cases that have made the news in recent months. (1) March 4, 2022 – Eight-year-old abducted and ...