By

Ifedigbo Nze Sylva

nzeifedigbo@yahoo.com

I really did not intend this to be the sequel to my earlier piece “Nigerian Men Of God as Con –Artists” but some thing recently happened that has prompted my raising this issue again earlier than I had planned.

Some days ago in Umuolihe Village, Isiala-Ngwa Local Government area of Abia state, twenty two people lost their lives under questionable circumstances during a deliverance prayer session at a house that was (is) believed to be haunted. No disaster could have been more unfortunate.

Now, I don’t intend to bother myself with the exact circumstances that led to the incident. That would be appropriately the responsibility of the police forensic unit if they ever care to. What I am however bothered about is that these twenty two people whose lives was cut in its prime committed no other crime other than being very loyal followers of a Man of God and would have probably been well alive and hearty today had they stayed back at home with their families on that faithful day.

Perhaps even more dramatic and most worrying is that after the incident the people of the village deserted the area for what the papers described as “fear of the unknown” and non of them sited was willing to comment about the incident. This is unconnected with their fear that the evil spirit which allegedly inhabits the Bungalow and which must have over powered the Man of God (and his people) who came to exorcise it, was on rampage.

The Deeper life Bible Church whose members were said to have been involved in the ill fated deliverance session have in a move that smack of trying to exonerate it self from taking responsibility for the sad event, issued a press release saying that their church never authorized the said prayer session. What more?, they offered words of consolation to the affected families and prayed for the repose of the souls of the victims. Full stop…, end of discussion.

I have a feeling that such nonsense can only happen in Nigeria. People die in such number and it means nothing. By all intent and purpose, that is the last you will hear of this issue. The families will mourn their dead, the villagers will return, the church will continue its business and life will go on.

After my piece “Nigerian Men of God As Con-Artists” was published  on Nigeria Village Square some weeks ago, I got an avalanche of responses and comments which kind of opened my eyes to the extent this church issue has gone and of course to the fact that I am not the only one being nauseated by it.

Like I said in my opening remark in that piece, I knew I was about to steer the hornets’ nest and indeed, the bees went wild. A great deal of people responding either through calls or e-mail messages fell short of calling me a ‘Satanist’ and an ‘apostle of the Devil’ right from the pit of hell just because I had the effrontery to question the moral justification for the now unbearable show of shame in the name of preaching the gospel by our men of God especially as it concerns the ripping off of poor innocent church goers of their hard earned income just to sustain these men of God and their bourgeoisie life style.

The consolation however was that for every condemnation I got, there were five passionate commendations. These included people who shared my opinion, those who had actually been victims of the many gimmicks these Men of God are known for and those who altogether did not believe that there was even a God in the first place.

This piece Is taking a slightly different angle, I want to look at the penchant for our men of God to cash in on our fears to make us prisoners of ourselves and by extension, theirs.

Nigerians are not only very corrupt and the happiest people in the world as some publications had suggested, we are also a very religious people, in my opinion, the most religious people under the sun. Religion is in itself enshrined in the polity such that we have two national religious monuments of impressive architecture located in the heart of our nation’s capital. Our people are so tied to their religious belief which in most cases has been reduced to the tenets of the dictates, not of God, but of whoever was the founder or pastor of the church they attended that they’ve become unable to break free of their limitations and conquer the world like we were called to do in Genesis.

For most people, nothing just happens. Every event from the seemingly irrelevant act of striking their feet against a stone while walking on a stony path, to having a nightmare has a spiritual undertone. So they have been taught to believe by the men of God. So many find themselves incapable of doing anything themselves except as is popularly said “by the grace of God” and a whole lot will not make any effort on their own but will rather sit back and wait for “the grace of God” to perform the miracle.

For example, our national football team the Super Eagles makes a big show of praying before and at half time (if the first half was unfavourable)during matches, yet they would report late to camp ahead of important matches and will not kick a ball unless their fat bonuses are paid up front.

Before we embark on a journey, we pray for journey mercies, this is not withstanding that our tyres are long worn out and begging to be changed and that a component in the engine has been showing repeated signs of giving way, but we have decided to just manage it.

I had a friend back in school who would rather spend the whole of his time in one fellowship programme or the other including travelling out of town into some villages on what they call outreach-evangelism not withstanding his course load as a student of Veterinary medicine. When some of us accost him, he had a ready answer for us that “Pastor” the founder of the church he attended “had prophesized that all that do the work of God will have academic breakthroughs”. After the first professional exams, he was thrown out of the programme.

Our men of God have sustained the belief in and fear for witchcrafts and demons. Just so that we keep running to them for one help or the other, they make it sound like we were living in a world where every other person was an unknown enemy. They don’t fail to tell you that the reason for your problems was a particular member of your family or the actions (or inactions) of some of your long dead ancestors.

While I am not saying that the so called forces of darkness do not exist-I sincerely wish to spare myself such argument-I am only saying that it is wrong by every form of reasoning to tie down our lives in fear of them and by extension make ourselves willing toys to be manipulated by the men of God.

Why does it seem like of all places on earth, all the forces of darkness seem most concentrated in Nigeria? And they, we are told by the men of God, are responsible for all of our problems. They’ve been blamed for our poverty, prevalence of disease, leadership woes and even for the wanton rigging of elections. To advance as individuals and as a nation therefore, the men of God make us believe we have to come down in worship to chase the demons away.

Well, I have never heard of any developed nation that attributed her advancement to religion. Tying our selves to religion keeps us from thinking out of the box and this is responsible to a large extent for our pariah state.

In the unfortunate incident in the village in Abia state mentioned earlier, a house built of cement and block, in this 21st century was said to be haunted and responsible for a series of misfortunes in the family because it was being inhabited by some kind of demon. First and foremost, such a diagnosis could only have been that of a man of God and the decision to free the House of the demon must have also been his. At the end twenty two loyal followers are no more and the church turns around to claim they never authorized the mission. Isn’t it time we began to think?

There is a new church just around my neighbourhood, name withheld. Worshippers of this church can spend the whole night shouting prayers in chorus such as “Enemy, fall down and Die” or “fire, fire, fire” their voices reaching a crescendo. They call it spiritual warfare and I often wonder that if they (the worshipers) exerted the same energy and commitment to their various jobs, academics or business, Nigeria would have long overtaken the United States in terms of development.

This business of using the existence (or not) of an evil being-the devil- to make money has gone too far. You will be surprised to hear of the amount of money that is paid for deliverance to take place or for the man of God to conduct a particular course of prayer or for him to reveal the content of one of his many visions. The higher the pay the more motivated the man of God is and thus the greater the veracity and pitch of his prayer and perhaps the faster the response from God.

I know of a church that forbids its members from owning and watching televisions. Which kind of people do they hope to breed? An uninformed, intellectually bankrupt and retrogressively minded people. How can those people advance in life? I know of others who in the bid to advertise their modern status permit such levels of immorality among her member that it become difficult to reconcile their gatherings with anything Godly. This group tells you that God likes you the way you are and so even when you dress in such a way that leaves virtually all parts of your body that should be rather covered open to public glare, it doesn’t matter to God. 

And how they love money!, just yesterday –a Sunday-(20th july), a friend of mine returned from Church visibly angry. Reason? His pastor had shared out an envelop branded “ Seed Vow” which every member was to collect and indicate the amount he/she would be giving monthly to the church as a “seed” which was supposed to be a “vow” to God. After wards, the Church workers came around to write down what every one had vowed on the envelop so that at the end of the month when you turned in the envelop, the pastor can confirm that you had really paid what you vowed to. This was in addition to the tithe and all others. My friend, an applicant who was hardly surviving had every reason to be mad.

Bottom line is that church business is big business in Nigeria and like is the standard practice, every business fashions out strategies for winning and keeping customers as well as out witting competitors. For our men of God, this includes making us prisoners of such outdated fear inducing concepts as witchcraft and blood sucking demons that we are too powerless to fight ourselves thus the need for us to always run to them for help and continue to help grow their business and sustain their expensive life styles with our offerings, free will donations, seed sowings and compulsory tithes.

What do we do with these Men of God?

Ifedigbo Nze Sylva

www.nzesylva.

SHE COULDN'T HAVE SAID IT ANY BETTER!!!!

church business is big business in Nigeria and like is the standard practice, every business fashions out strategies for winning and keeping customers as well as out witting competitors.

[b][/b]

it is NOT only in Nigeria that the majority is so damn credilous and stupid as to be taken in by these con artist brandishing the barbaric text from the bronze age.

What is the world coming to?

Fellow nairalanders this has bcome a thorny issue in this country.Politicians & so-called men of God are cashing in on the impoverishment,gullibility and pliabilityof Nigerians.Borishade attributed the ill-fated plane crashes years bak to occultic powers.the governor of Plateau state claimed that his administration has bin bedevild by demonic powers since inception,Obasanjo told Nigerians to leave power problem to God.They have the audacity to maq such statements because they know that Nigerians are notoriuosly religious & wld blv any statement with God or spiritism in it.Plz Nigerians pull that wool off your eyes & see this these men 4 wat they rilly are-con artist. Don't get me wrong i'm not an atheist,i blv in an omnipotent God but i also blv in critical,logical & rational reasoning.

The renaissance is coming so the days of these men are numbered.

renaissance is near!!!

good way to exploit. Give them an illness and then sell them the so-called cure for it. That is what religion in Nigeria is.

huxley:

good way to exploit. Give them an illness and then sell them the so-called cure for it. That is what religion in Nigeria is.

Huxley i know you have your views of religion and what have you but you doesn't mean you should go around and belittle them.

Cold,
Well i share your concern and feelings about the so called "Men of God".But I still know and strongly believe that the genuine ones are still out there.Though they are few but they serve God with all their might and strength,and with the right focus.

Our people are so gullible when it comes to being tussle here are there.If people can only serve God for whom He is and not just what He can give,I'm sure things will be done differently.We have quite a lot of examples in the bible,but the true prophets and apostles stood there ground.
For me it's all about the followers.The question is what are they looking for that God has not done for them?
This subject is one area you can not exhaust or do anything about,because Christ talked about it and you need not to be surprised or caught unaware.
I want everyone to know that if you don't stand for a thing,you will fall for everything that comes your way!

it is NOT only in Nigeria that the majority is so damn credilous and stupid as to be taken in by these con artist brandishing  the barbaric text from the bronze age.

It wouldn't kill you to have respect for our beliefs. We resepct yours now respect ours. If you truly believe that there is no God, that is entirely your own, so what harm is it that people have beliefs in a superior being. Does it burn your body, does it hurt you, does it kill you?

Have some respect if not anything.

~Lady~:

It wouldn't kill you to have respect for our beliefs. We resepct yours now respect ours. If you truly believe that there is no God, that is entirely your own, so what harm is it that people have beliefs in a superior being. Does it burn your body, does it hurt you, does it kill you?

Have some respect if not anything.

Well, strictly speaking it is not hurting me direct but is hurting them, the believer directly in various ways namely financially, mentally, physically etc. It hurts me to see people so barely able to reason exploited so shame-facedly by these religious con-artists. It is because I care for them and the rest of the world that I am really concerned for their well-being.

In the long-run our civilization is at risk of degeneration if scientific rationalism gives way to superstitious supernaturalism. That is why I care.

Well, strictly speaking it is not hurting me direct but is hurting them, the believer directly in various ways namely financially, mentally, physically etc. It hurts me to see people so barely able to reason exploited so shame-facedly by these religious con-artists. It is because I care for them and the rest of the world that I am really concerned for their well-being.

In the long-run our civilization is at risk of degeneration if scientific rationalism gives way to superstitious supernaturalism. That is why I care.

Thanks for clarifying that it doesn't hurt u, now will u please have some respect for those "it hurts" religion. If it hurts them they won't do it.
I am a strong Catholic Christian, it has done nothing but help me. I don't feel worthless, I have a higher self-esteem, I love myself now, I love all those I come in contact with even those who hurt me, at the end of the day I wish them well. I am guided by principles and don't contradict my principles. I am not wayward.
I lend a helping hand and go the extra mile. If I choose to believe in a greater power that helps me to do better, how does that hurt you? It doesn't, infact it might help you one day. One day you might be the one in need of help and a believer in a superior being might be the one to lend a helping hand and that will be driven by the belief of the person, would you refuse his or her help then?
I doubt you will.

Like I said, if anything have some respect for people's beliefs. If they choose to believe that is entirely their own, it is not for you to decide for them. Just as u decide not to believe they decide to believe. They resepct your belief, respect theirs thank you.

~Lady~:

Thanks for clarifying that it doesn't hurt u, now will u please have some respect for those "it hurts" religion. If it hurts them they won't do it.
I am a strong Catholic Christian, it has done nothing but help me. I don't feel worthless, I have a higher self-esteem, I love myself now, I love all those I come in contact with even those who hurt me, at the end of the day I wish them well. I am guided by principles and don't contradict my principles. I am not wayward.
I lend a helping hand and go the extra mile. If I choose to believe in a greater power that helps me to do better, how does that hurt you? It doesn't, infact it might help you one day. One day you might be the one in need of help and a believer in a superior being might be the one to lend a helping hand and that will be driven by the belief of the person, would you refuse his or her help then?
I doubt you will.

Like I said, if anything have some respect for people's beliefs. If they choose to believe that is entirely their own, it is not for you to decide for them. Just as u decide not to believe they decide to believe. They resepct your belief, respect theirs thank you.

First off, I have respect for [b]people [/b]and NOT for religions or any ideas for that matter.

Secondly, pardon me, for your response smacks of exactly why I say religions have perverted the minds of many people, you most certainly included. You were basically saying that it is religion or the believe in god that makes people good, weren't? So if you did not believe in a superior being, you would not be good, would you?

For a start, the greatest philanthropists (Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Carnegie ) in the history of humankind have been disbelievers in god

I know religions motivates some people to be good, but this is certainly a lower quality of moral behaviour. I am a good person because I share a common humanity with everyone else,not because I expect to gain some reward from a superior being.

In fact the history of your religion is littered with shameful atrocities committed in the name of your god and your pope - from the witch hunts, burning of books, persecution of heretics, complicity with slavery, etc. Why did their believe if god NOT stop them from committing these vile acts.

To quote Stephen Weinburg - "Good people will do good things, bad people bad things, but for good people to do bad things that takes religion".

My dear, educate yourself in the history of your religion and some critical thinking and scientific rationalism would not come amiss.

By the way, why are you not protestant or baptist, or seven day adventist?

dis is d kind of thread huxley likes

This is the kind of thread I like.

Why are you afraid to think and have ur ideas challenged ?

rampant has taken leave of her on mental faculty, which space is now occupied by religion.

Interesting link: http://www.christianaggression.com/item_display.php?type=ARTICLES&id=1137511050

that one concern u huxley,if u like criticise God from now till tomorrow ,it wont change a thing

like lady said,we respect ur own belief,so y dont u respect ours

rampant:

that one concern u huxley,if u like criticise God from now till tomorrow ,it wont change a thing

like lady said,we respect your own belief,so y don't u respect ours

Does not mean I have to reciprocate. My lack-of-belief does not deserve respect.

huxley:

Does not mean I have to reciprocate. My lack-of-belief does not  deserve respect.

then go ahead and keep waisting ur time,all in d name of trying to prove dat there is no God

rampant:

then go ahead and keep waisting your time,all in d name of trying to prove that there is no God

Rampant, we had a good conversation last week, didn't we? That was not wasting me/your time. We exchange ideas much as we disagree on some main issues.

BTW, you asked where I came from and upon being told I was born in Cameroon, you said "No Wonder" and dashed of home. What did you mean by that "No Wonder"?

huxley:

Rampant, we had a good conversation last week, didn't we?  That was not wasting me/your time.  We exchange ideas much as we disagree on some main issues.

BTW, you asked where I came from and upon being told I was born in Cameroon, you said "No Wonder" and dashed of home.  What did you mean by that "No Wonder"?

use ur tongue to count ur teeth sweetheart

rampant:

use your tongue to count your teeth sweetheart

Like that idiom, but don't understand it. can you come again?

huxley:

Like that idiom, but don't understand it.  can you come again?

use your brains to solve d puzzle