A LEGENDARY WARNING FOR GHANA’S CHRISTIAN HERITAGE

Mission schools in Ghana; ancient pillars of discipline, scholarship, and Christian moral formation; now find themselves at the centre of a national conversation on religious accommodation.

Yet the wisdom of an old Jewish legendary from the Arabian desert offers profound insight into our present dilemma.

The tale recounts a Jewish traveller who purchased a graceful Arabian horse from an Ishmaelite trader.

As night settled over the unforgiving desert and the cold winds slashed across the dunes, the horse spoke with impeccable courtesy:

“Master, the night chills me. Grant me the grace to place only my head inside your tent.”

A small request.
A harmless gesture.
Compassion triumphed.

Soon followed another polite entreaty:

“Master, forgive me, but my forelegs are freezing. Only the forelegs; no further intrusion.”

Again, kindness prevailed over caution.

But inevitably came the final plea; draped in humility but weighted with intent:

“Master, permit my hind legs and tail to enter. I am dying from the cold outside.”

By now, the tent contained more horse than human. Yet the owner, believing himself virtuous, allowed it.

Then, in a dramatic twist as old as human naïveté, the Arabian horse; now fully settled in the tent; complained bitterly:

“This space is cramped! I cannot move freely. You are obstructing my comfort. Please step outside.”

When the owner objected, the animal delivered a kick with royal authority, ejecting him into the desert sands; bleeding, bewildered, and evicted from his own shelter.

Seeking justice, the man approached the judges’ camp, only to discover that each judge was a relative of a horse who had similarly occupied another man’s tent.

Justice vanished.
Sympathy evaporated.
Reality dawned.

The parable’s moral is unmistakable: when tolerance lacks boundaries, eviction becomes inevitable.

THE PARABLE MEETS OUR PRESENT: MISSION SCHOOLS UNDER PRESSURE

Ghana’s mission schools; established long before national independence and built on Christian conviction; are now being asked to dilute the very faith and ethos that define them.

These institutions were not fashioned by government decrees, but by churches, missionaries, and saints whose sacrifices shaped generations.

Yet now we are told:

“Permit only this small exception.”
“Allow only this minor deviation.”
“Make only this harmless adjustment.”

History warns us that no ideological horse ever enters merely with its head.
Concession is seldom the end; it is always the beginning.

To compromise the Christian identity of mission schools under the guise of “fairness” is to invite the Arabian horse into the tent; first politely, then progressively, and eventually destructively.

THE GLOBAL LESSON: CHRISTIAN SPACES THAT WERE NOT DEFENDED

The fate of Christian communities around the world is not a mystery; it is a syllabus for the unwise.

Turkey (Anatolia)

Once a cradle of Christianity; home to the Seven Churches of Revelation. Today, Christianity survives as an archaeological memory.

Lebanon

Once a Christian-majority nation. Now a dwindling minority negotiating its existence in a system it once shaped.

North Africa

Birthplace of the greatest Church Fathers; Athanasius, Augustine, Cyprian. Now, the Christian presence is marginal and cautious.

Nigeria

Where unspeakable violence against Christians continues with disturbing frequency and global indifference.

These are not attacks on Islam.
They are historical realities; facts that echo through centuries.

Where Christians surrendered their institutions “a little,” they soon surrendered them entirely.

THE CONSTITUTION AND SHARIAH: A NECESSARY DISTINCTION

It must be said candidly: in many Islamic states, Shariah law holds a place of supremacy above any national constitution.
From this framework emerge:

Restrictions on evangelism

Criminalisation of conversion from Islam

Limited church construction

Suppression of public Christian expression

Blasphemy laws weaponised against minorities

Muslims in such contexts fiercely guard their religious spaces; without apology.

Yet in Ghana, Christians are curiously advised to perform the theological gymnastics of perpetual concession.

Why must the faith community that built these institutions be the only one expected to shrink its identity for the convenience of others?

No Muslim-majority nation offers Islamic schools for Christian reinterpretation.
Why should Christian mission schools be subjected to such expectations?

A PEACEFUL, PROPHETIC, AND NECESSARY WARNING TO THE GHANAIAN CHURCH

This editorial is not an invitation to hostility.
It is a call to wisdom, discernment, and institutional self-respect.

1. Guard the Christian Identity of Mission Schools

They were founded on Scripture, prayer, and Christian discipline.
That heritage is not a negotiable asset.

2. Make Politically Informed Decisions

The Church must be strategic in its civic participation.
Its freedoms depend on responsible voting and vigilance.

3. Do Not Apologise for Defending Your Space

Every religious community protects its institutions.
Christians should not be the lone exception.

4. Preserve Peace by Setting Clear Boundaries

Ambiguous lines breed future conflict.
Clear principles safeguard national harmony.

CONCLUSION: AN ANCIENT PARABLE FOR A MODERN NATION

The Parable of the Arabian Horse is not mere folklore; it is a warning wrapped in humour, a prophecy disguised as desert wisdom, a mirror for the naïve.

It teaches us that:

What enters politely will eventually demand authority.
What is granted little will later claim much.
What is accommodated today may expel you tomorrow.

Christian love is not Christian foolishness.
Christian tolerance is not Christian self-destruction.
Christian generosity must not become Christian disappearance.

Ghana’s peace is a treasure.
Its mission schools are a legacy.
And its Christian heritage is a trust that must not be negotiated away.

Let those with tents guard them.
Let those with boundaries maintain them.
And let the Church, at last, practise wisdom with the same devotion with which it preaches love.

THE PARABLE OF THE ARABIAN HORSE AND ITS JEWISH OWNER —
A LEGENDARY WARNING FOR GHANA’S MISSION SCHOOLS**

In the vast silence of the Arabian desert—where the sands remember more than men do—there is a Jewish legendary that deserves fresh contemplation in Ghana today.

A Jewish traveller once purchased a well-mannered Arabian horse from an Ishmaelite merchant. As night descended and the cold desert winds prowled around the traveller’s tent, the horse appealed in the most courteous tone:

“Master, the night air is bitter. Permit me to place only my head inside the tent.”

Who could refuse such humility?
The Jewish owner agreed.

Soon came the next entreaty:

“Master, forgive me, but my front legs are freezing. Only the front legs—nothing more.”

Again, sympathy triumphed over prudence.

Not long after, the final request emerged—clothed in the language of desperation:

“Master, allow my hind legs and tail inside. I am perishing in this cold.”

By now, the tent hosted more horse than human. Yet the kind-hearted owner continued accommodating, believing he was practising charity.

But charity without boundaries always becomes tragedy.

The Arabian horse, now fully ensconced in the tent, suddenly complained of suffocation:

“This tent is too cramped for the two of us. I cannot stretch, run, or move freely. Kindly step outside.”

The owner protested.
The horse responded—with a violent kick that sent the man sprawling into the sands, bruised and bleeding.

Seeking justice, the man rushed to a tribunal, only to discover that every judge was a cousin, nephew, or brother of a horse that had already commandeered its master’s tent.

Case dismissed.
Lesson learned.
Too late.

In the desert of innocence, naïveté is not a virtue; it is an eviction notice.

THE PARABLE AND GHANA’S MISSION SCHOOLS

This ancient story is more than folklore; it is a mirror held up to Ghana’s current debate between Christian mission schools and mounting religious demands.

These institutions; Wesley Girls SHS being a recent example; were built long before Ghana’s independence, funded by churches, founded on Christian doctrine, discipline, and worldview.

Yet today, society is being asked to pretend that these schools have no right to preserve their identity; that their Christian ethos must be diluted to suit divergent religious convictions.

It begins with “only a small exception.”
Then “a minor deviation.”
Then “a harmless adjustment.”
And suddenly, the entire tent belongs to someone else.

History is replete with cultures that lost their institutions because they mistook accommodation for wisdom and surrender for peace.

THE GLOBAL PATTERN: WHEN CHRISTIAN SPACES WERE NOT GUARDED

Let us not romanticise world history.
Wherever Christians failed to guard their institutions; politely, peacefully, firmly; the outcome was predictable.

Turkey (Anatolia)

Once the epicentre of Apostolic Christianity; Ephesus, Galatia, Cappadocia. Today Christianity survives as a relic.

Lebanon

Once a proud Christian-majority nation. Now struggling for survival in a political structure they originally steered.

North Africa

The intellectual cradle of the early Church; home to Augustine, Athanasius, Cyprian, and Tertullian. Today, the Christian presence is a marginal minority living between restriction and caution.

Nigeria

The unspoken global epicentre of anti-Christian violence; villages razed, pastors abducted, congregations massacred while the world looks away.

These are not anti-Muslim remarks.
These are historical facts; sobering, instructive, applicable.

When Christians surrendered “just a little,” they eventually surrendered everything.

THE CONSTITUTION VERSUS SHARIAH: A NECESSARY CLARITY

In many Islamic states, Shariah law is considered an immutable, divinely superior legal system. Within such frameworks:

Evangelism is limited

Conversion from Islam is criminalised

Churches face restrictions

Public Christian expression is tightly controlled

Blasphemy laws silence dissent

Muslims in those regions fiercely defend their religious spaces; and that is their prerogative.

The irony is that Ghanaian Christians are told to do the opposite:
To accommodate without question.
To concede without boundaries.
To dilute without discernment.

Why must Christian tolerance always require Christian erasure?
Why must mission schools apologise for being Christian?

Why must institutions with clear identities be expected to abandon them in the name of “fairness”?

No Muslim-majority nation subjects its Islamic institutions to such ideological hospitality.
Why, then, should Ghanaian Christians surrender the very legacy that built our most disciplined educational structures?

A PEACEFUL BUT FIRM WARNING TO THE GHANAIAN CHURCH

This editorial is not a summons to hostility.
Not a trumpet for violence.
Not a manifesto of intolerance.

It is a call for historical memory, spiritual discernment, and institutional vigilance.

1. Guard Your Mission Schools

They were not constructed by the state; the state merely inherited them.
Their Christian identity is not negotiable.

2. Guard Your Political Decisions

Christians must vote with wisdom, weighing the security of the nation and the preservation of the freedoms they enjoy.

3. Guard Your Spiritual Identity

Other religious communities defend their institutions without apology.
Christians should do the same; respectfully, lawfully, confidently.

4. Guard the Peace by Defining Boundaries

Unclear boundaries breed future conflict.
Clear principles prevent social chaos.

CONCLUSION: ANCIENT WISDOM FOR MODERN GHANA

The Parable of the Arabian Horse is not just a story; it is a prophecy wrapped in sarcasm, a warning clothed in humour, a truth disguised as fable.

It reminds us that:

A little compromise becomes a foothold.
A foothold becomes a takeover.
And a takeover becomes an expulsion.

Christian love does not mean Christian naïveté.
Christian charity does not mean Christian surrender.
Christian tolerance does not mean Christian suicide.

Ghana’s peace is precious.
Its mission schools are priceless.
And its Christian heritage is not a bargaining chip.

Let those who have tents; guard them.
Let those who have boundaries; keep them.

And let the Church, for once, practise wisdom with the same enthusiasm with which it practises generosity.

Rev Emmanuel Boachie PRESIDENT, Centre for Biblical-Historical Christianity Defence, COUNTRY DIRECTOR, Awesome Bible College and HEADPASTOR, Souls’ Pasture Church: Ghana Kumasi Asuofua-ACHIASE off Barekese Road:+233 240 375959.

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