Jude Bankole Kuti is a mage of the Celestial Chorus.
Biography[]
Jude Bankole Kuti was originally a young Anglican priest from Kaduna state, Nigeria. He was always something of a scholar, and he continued to study even as he served his parish. His efforts were rewarded. In 1985, he received a scholarship to study theology at All Saints College, Oxford.
Reverend Kuti was originally a moderate who advocated a mix of local traditions and Christian teachings. He felt that local beliefs mirrored the message of the Gospels, and that the Church was best suited to transmit moral truth because of its organization and resources instead of any special claim to the truth.
Oxford changed that. His quick, rational mind suited him to the study of Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine and St. Anselm. His surface knowledge of these thinkers grew into expertise while his initial admiration for them bloomed into near-worship. Christian scholars like these neatly justified many of the things that he had always found arbitrary about Christian doctrine.
Kuti returned to Nigeria with a stronger commitment to the tenets of his faith and less tolerance for anything that deviated from them. His fervor and his articulate speech won him popularity and drew many nominal Christians back to the Church. He Awakened while witnessing an ordination. In a flash if insight, he saw the power of Apostolic Succession that flowed through the hands of the bishops. Afterward, he met the odd miracle-worker who used Islamic or Yoruba beliefs to channel that power. These encounters only reminded him of the fact that the Devil, too, has his servants.
He returned to Oxford in 1996 to lecture on Christian ethics and human rights. Singers in the audience recognized his Awakened nature and inducted him into the Chorus. His initial elation at meeting other Christian mages turned to disappointment, when he was forced to deal with the ecumenism that (in his words) infested the Tradition. He did make contact with Muslim Singers from his own land, though, and his opinions might have softened if it hadn't been for the events that unfolded in his home parish.
In 2000, Kaduna Christians protested when the state government began to consider the selective implementation of the Sharia legal code on behalf of its Muslim majority. Despite assurances that the code would not affect them, the Christian protests flared into violence. Kuti's own parish was at the forefront, largely because of the extreme views he'd inculcated in his parishioners.
Kuti saw this event as a sign that his attempts to cooperate with non-Christian Singers were foolish, and that realization inspired him to spread this message to other Christians within the Tradition. Nowadays, The Reverend Jude Bankole Kuti divides his time between teaching his parishioners to defend themselves from "heathens" and touring Europe and America to debate with Chorus ecumenicists. Because of his brilliant (if somewhat inflexible) arguments, many Septarians and Templars have come to see him as a kind of advisor - someone who will teach them to be as rational as they are opinionated.
Appearance[]
Kuti's a thing 39-year-old who dresses in modern clerical garb. He usually wears pale blue shirts with his Roman collar. His vision has just started to fail, so he wears a pair of horn-rimmed glasses that complement his narrow, worry-lined eyes. His deep voice carries Nigerian and British tones. When he does speak, he does so in composed statements that never descended into irrational claims. Despite (or perhaps because of) his intelligent tone, he belts forth every word with a special passion that seems to echo in the listener's mind longer after Kuti's finished speaking.
Stats[]
Faction: Septarian
Essence: Questing
Nature: Pedagogue
Demeanor: Autocrat
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3, Charisma 4 (Memorable), Manipulation 2, Appearance 2, Perception 3, Intelligence 5 (Logical), Wits 3
Abilities: Academics (Christian Theology/Philosophy) 5, Awareness 2, Drive 2, Enigmas 3, Etiquette 3, Intimidation 3, Investigation 2, Law 3, Leadership 4 (Resolute), Linguistics 2, Occult 3, Performance 4 (Sermons)
Backgrounds: Avatar 3, Influence 3, Library 3
Arete: 4
Spheres: Correspondence 3, Mind 4, Prime 3, Time 2
Willpower: 7
Quintessence: 7
Paradox: 0
Resonance: (Static) Resolute
References[]
- MTAs: Celestial Chorus Tradition Book, p. 71-72