Money laundering in the churches
Article of Faith

Thieves and robbers are Satan’s gifts to the churches.

When a villain has ill-gotten gains, he sometimes needs to have the money “laundered.”  This is the process whereby stolen money is made respectable by moving it through a number of legal channels designed to camouflage its original illicit source.  Sometimes, the stolen money is smuggled out of the country and then brought back in through regular channels, so as to make it seem like it originated from foreign shores whose records are inaccessible domestically.

Another version of this money-laundering process is duplicated in the churches with pastors as the lynchpin.  When a contrite Judas brought back the thirty pieces of silver he received for betraying Jesus to the Jewish Priesthood, they refused to put the money in the offering-box: “The chief priests took the silver pieces and said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.’” (Matthew 27:6).

This was convoluted reasoning at best, showing the “doublethink” of religion.  The priests had no qualms about bringing about the death of innocent Jesus.  But they felt it was inappropriate to put “blood money” in the offering-box.  However, even such hypocritical qualms are no longer evident today.  Today, it does not matter where the money comes from, as long as it is money you can be sure the church will receive it.

Theft sanctification

As I said, pastors operate today an elaborate money-laundering business.  You steal the money; you kill for the money; it makes no difference.  Just bring the money; we will receive it gladly from you with no questions asked.  When you bring the money, we will bless you and pray for you.  We will also pray that the source from which you got it will not run dry, so you can go and bring some more.

This goes a long way to assuage the conscience of the wicked.  They are encouraged that as long as they give a significant fraction of their stolen money to the church, the theft is sanctified.  In effect, the offering is used by the pastor to make atonement for the sin of the theft, thereby releasing the crooked donor from guilt.  So doing, we receive and launder stolen money on God’s behalf.  Indeed, there is an implicit signboard in front of mega-churches, saying: “Thieves and robbers are welcome here, preferably with a tithe of their stolen loot.”  When they come, we lavish encomiums on them.

When I accused a lawyer with whom I was negotiating a business deal of sharp practices, she retorted: “Dr. Aribisala, I will pay tithe on the amount.”  Jesus shows nothing but contempt for this kind of thinking.  He said to the Pharisees: “Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?” (Matthew 23:19).

Thieves and robbers are Satan’s gifts to the churches.  Visit the mega-churches in Nigeria and you will discover the people seating in the front-row are the big-time thieves who have robbed the country blind.  Everybody knows they are crooks; nevertheless, they have pride of place in the churches.  Their seats are reserved.  The messages preached are carefully-crafted so they are not offended and remain comfortable in their thievery.

Mega-pastors would hardly operate in the tradition of John the Baptist, calling the Herods of Nigeria to repentance.  On the contrary, when Herod comes to church, we give him the microphone to address the congregation.  Thus, one Lagos mega-pastor gave Governor Bola Tinubu, a non-Christian, the microphone to address members of his house on the sand, when he was seeking re-election in 2003.  Of course, the “ogbologbos” of Nigeria can always address the faithful of Redeemed at Kilometre 46.

Says Ebenezer Obadare: “In a dynamic that works quite well for the state and serves the ends of holders of political power, religious leaders attend their (office holders’) birthday ceremonies, bless their respective families, and, at the end of each year, unfailingly prophesy positive things for the country they so spectacularly misgovern.”

Robbers’ revolt

I was given a fascinating report about a well-known Lagos prosperity pastor.  He suddenly saw the light one Sunday, and decided to preach the true gospel for a change.  He warned his parishioners that it is righteousness that exalts, but sin is a reproach.  He told them if they did not repent, they would miss the kingdom of God.

No sooner had he finished his message than uproar arose.  The major financiers of the church were livid and they asked for an emergency meeting with him.  They did not mince words.  They told him in no uncertain terms that that kind of message was unacceptable.  It was very easy for him as a pastor to grandstand with lofty religious sentiments, while living on the money he collects from them.  But how did he think they were getting the money they gave him?  Let him leave the pulpit and come into the real world so he can see whether it is possible to become a slumdog billionaire through the righteousness that exalts a nation.

The pastor’s ears were opened.  He quickly went back to his old time-worn prosperity and motivational messages and everyone was happy again.  “Preach it, pastor; preach it,” they cheer him on, while an attendant dutifully comes forward to wipe his face with a towel.

Stolen offerings

In 2002, it came to light that one Lawrence Agada stole 39 million naira over a period of time from the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, where he was employed as a cashier.  For very strange reasons, he spent very little of the stolen money on himself.  Instead, he gave the lion-share of it as tithes and offerings to a parish of Christ Embassy.  Clearly, there was witchcraft at work here.  The man did not even own a car.  Neither did he have a motor-cycle.  Nevertheless, he did not use any of his stolen loot to enhance his standard of living.  What must they have been telling him at Christ Embassy to lead him to the conclusion he could serve God with stolen tithes and offerings?

His “generosity” so impressed his church that, on occasion, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, the head of the church, wrote him a special letter of commendation read to his entire parish.  At no time did anyone deem it necessary to enquire how someone who was only a cashier could have obtained so much money.  When the theft was finally detected by his employers, Christ Embassy admitted that Agada had indeed given the stolen money to the church.  Nevertheless, the church refused to refund the looted money.  You may well ask why a church of God would refuse to refund money it knows was stolen to its rightful owners.

Suffice to say any church which directly or indirectly encourages theft and knowingly receives stolen property cannot be of God.  If you steal, it makes no difference if you give all the money to your church, you are still a thief.  Your offering might be acceptable to your pastor, but make no mistake about it; it is not acceptable to God.  God hates robbery for burnt offering. (Isaiah 61:.  He said: “As your offering to me you bring a stolen animal…  Do you think I will accept that from you?” (Malachi 1:13).

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/10/money-laundering-in-the-churches/

Dee60:

I agree with you. Let God be the judge.

I actually marvel at our reasoning. The MD of NNPC travels around with a jet acquired on taxpayers back and no one complains. Why develop so much bad belle because someone else is making progress? If you have the means to acquire a jet good if you have one, if not, God bless those who can. There was a time people abused those who acquired Mercdes Benz, but they stopped abusing the moment they acquired theirs. I pray that many more people will have the means to buy jets, and i pray they use it for a good cause like evangelism.

[size=18pt]YOUR STEWPIDITY IS BEYOND HUMAN COMPREHENSION[/size]

elvis_osho:
unlike the vatican city,aviation in nigeria is very poor so public transportation has become a bigtime life/death gamble,hence the need for a private jet,even the president of Nigeria will never use a public jet which goes to show the lack of faith in them.If all 9grians could,everyone would have a private jet,no one wants to be another Dana(like) victim.

You are offside on this one, how many local trips do you think does pastors embark on? Compared to foreign trips.
So you are telling me BA, Lufthansa, Delta Air, Fly Emirates, Quatar Air, KLM, Virgin Air, Kenya Airways, Ethiopia Air that operate on commercial capacity here in Nigeria with no single air crash within the last 20 years en route Nigeria are also not maintained well..
Emancipate yorself from mental slavery my brother, if you know how much FAAN chargers per hour for parking space at MMA, you will scream

obaiyanu: make u na dey run your mouth for naira land. The learner wey open this thread, how many of your cars have you sold to feed the poor. And if u no get car ur name na sorry.

how much of your tithe did you give to me?

Ogbeche77: how much of your tithe did you give to me?

Learner na wetin u dey talk again

Ibro Yaya:

^^^ Big Fat lie!!
The Pope doesn't travel in commercial airline. Haven't you heard of Sheperd 1 and sherperd 2 ?. Those are the private plane the pope travels in. They are almost as big as US Airforce One

Close your mouth and stop saying what you don't know.
The Pope flies on a chartered Alitalia jet, the tradition is for the Pope to fly to the country he is visiting on a chatered Alitalia jet and return on a jet belonging to a flag carrier from visited nation.
The Pope's flight is nicknamed 'Shepherd one'.
Shepherd one is the international call sign of any aircraft carrying the Pope onboard.

Billyonaire: Jesus did not have overseas membership Goddamnit. Our pastors have millions of members in over 160 countries. How many members did Jesus have ? Jesus needed a boat and a donkey and he used them. There was no private jet then, I am sure Jesus would have got one, if there was jet then and if he could afford to.

Palm Sunday. When Jesus was riding into Jerusalem, he had the choice of riding on a camel, a stallion, chariot or a donkey.

Guess which one he chose?

Siena: Hardly surprising.

I've always seen some of these churches as phoney, especially the RCCG.

Christ Embassy has always been at the top of my list. Followed by Winners.
I'll know the world has ended, only when W.F Kumuiyi joins the fray.

Apostle Paul must be watching from heaven with envy remembering all those miles he clocked on foot.

musKeeto: Young man, touch not Gods annointed.

Give your life, and he shall cause you to mount up on wings like cockroach
[img]http://3.bp..com/-Lt4bgksHZ-g/UMMZG2qffyI/AAAAAAAADyE/3W_wRPdUdkg/s1600/pastor-jet.gif[/img]

Going to meet his Oga @ d top...

Jesus rode on donkey not even a horse. God will be the Judge....

I'm an ANGLICAN but Na only Kumuyi be the only honest pastor I know

wirinet:

why does he need ti be in ten different countries within a space of seven days? is he the one pastoring churches in those countries. can he be present in all branches of the church in all countries. Is there no proper administrative system in place to make sure the church is run smoothly. even multinational companies and franchises that have offices in every country in the world do not need their MD to travel to ten different countries in 6 days.

Put in a simpler fashion, there is a reason organized people have calendars. If your calendar and event programs are well organized, you can't come up with such a lame excuse to buy a private jet.

musKeeto: Young man, touch not Gods annointed.

Give your life, and he shall cause you to mount up on wings like cockroach
[img]http://3.bp..com/-Lt4bgksHZ-g/UMMZG2qffyI/AAAAAAAADyE/3W_wRPdUdkg/s1600/pastor-jet.gif[/img]

Going to meet his Oga @ d top...

I comment my reserve.

32-D:

[size=18pt]YOUR STEWPIDITY IS BEYOND HUMAN COMPREHENSION[/size]

Actually, this is an understatement.

Phillfree: Apostle Paul must be watching from heaven with envy remembering all those miles he clocked on foot.

preach on....

2baga:


I comment my reserve.

now, dis is DRY.

mtchewww. wetin he for talk

Dee60:

There is possibly not a lot of demand for the pope to travel around. A church like the Redeemed Christian Church of God is massively evangelizing to countries. There are thousands of churches around the world who would wish and who are inviting the GO of RCCG and that is the difference. Let God be the judge in this matter. The GO of RCCG and the church has been a blessing to Nigeria's image in more than 100 countries, yet we never learn to appreciate our own. Let god be the judge. Let us not compare people. Round pegs do not fit into square holes!

more contries in the world demand the presence of the pope than they demand the presence of all pentecostal pastors join togeda after all majority of worshipers in those churches are Nigerians but the pope is a universal figure

muami:

Firstly, the pope 'owns' a private jet the same way Pastor Adeboye 'owns' a private jet. No jet is registered in their name. However, they both have jets that is available for their use whenever they want it.

In any event, we don't have to copy the pope. People do mortgage in the UK and US but in Nigeria, we buy houses outright. That is our style. So if any Nigerian pastor believe their own 'overseeing' is better achieved by the use of a private jet, whether registered in their name or not, the yardstick should not be what the pope does. If we must copy the pope, then we should support all Nigerian pastors to be treated like heads of states, own their own bank and print their money!

By the way, I don't get it about the rant about the humility of the new pope. Pastor Adeboye is also well known for his humility, even the report under reference acknowledge that as follows: "Though considered unique in his simple appearance and un-flamboyant lifestyle..."

its unfortunate you hold on to your biased view on the catholic church isnt it a christian character to be fair and sincere in our approach to truth, the popes position in the world cant be compared to that of Pastor Adeboye, so his humility is something we must not stop commending and as for your lies on the pope having a private jet this article says it all http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-has-no-money-or-space-for-private-plane-says-priest/

Symphony007: my dear, don't mislead people to defend the indefensible. Sherpard one is not even the name of a particular plane. Sherpard one is the call sign for any plane the pope is flying in. That is what air traffic controllers call anyplane the pope is one. And when he pope travels, the vatican hires an air italia plane for him and his staff. It's a commercial plane with the pope having his own seat. So my dear, there is no plane like "sherpard one" it's a call sign. So even if the pope is in a carton that is flying, it will be reffered to as "sherpard one".

Abeg tell them ooooo, i dont know why people just come on line and say rubbish without verifying

muami:

The fact that the FALSE statement made by Ogbeche77 has so far received 17 'likes' says a lot about the level of intelligence and knowledge of the people who are always looking for what to criticize about pastors.

First of all, the Pope does not only have two PRIVATE JETS (called Shepherd One and Shepherd two), he also owns a COUNTRY, a BANK, a CURRENCY and many other things which no Nigeria General Overseer owns. Even with these jets, the Popes have so far been ineffective in their tasks of overseeing the I billion Catholics you talk about(perhaps because he does not leave the Vatican too often). Apart from the issues of the sex scandals, the Catholic Church also happens to be the most divided church on theology and doctrine. For example, the Church doctrine is against gay marriage. However, majority of Catholics including Priests and Bishops openly go against the Church and support it. Is that the product of effective overseeing? My simple view is this: If the private jet enables these pastors to effectively carry out their tasks, then let them have it! After all, not one is forcing you to contribute to the purchase of the jets.

your poor understanding of the catholic church is so evident and your hatred for it wont allow youu clarify things, it is most unfair and a big lie to say ,majority of catholics including bishops and priest go against church teachings a few do and the church is xlear that anybody who goes againt church teaching has excommunicated himself excepts he repents even though they still claim to be catholics and as for your claim of pope having two jets this article says it all http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-has-no-money-or-space-for-private-plane-says-priest/

'Touch not my anointed', please leave everything to God. As for me, no comment. I'm out of here

Nwa oguta: How many private jets did jesus own during his time? GOD will judge all dis 419 pastors.

. Dear oga at d bottom, pls watch ur mouth. Did jesus pay for transportation when he was on earth? Who own d ship dt he use to travel on? Was it a public transport? "Judge not" so dt u will not be judged. U wey no buy private jet r u holy? If God marks iniquity who shall stand? Leave God to his work, the lord who sees what you do in secret will surely reward accordingly in open. Do u know d number of people dt dis pastors affect positively in cash and in kind? Leetts stop talking abt there private jet 'cos talking will get us into sinning and it won't change anything. He that is righteous let him continue, he dt is holy let him continue, he dt is stealing let him continue. God is the rewarder of them dt diligently seek him. If u think they r using ur tithe to acquire it den stop paying if u think u can cope wt it. Wt or without u God has his way of doing is work. God help us.

coolsegun: 'Touch not my anointed', please leave everything to God. As for me, no comment. I'm out of here

Why didn't you follow your own advise and leave the typing to God? You shouldn't have bothered typing a thing. Leave it to God.

Seek first, political and economic liberation, and every other thing shall be added unto you.

Have guys tried travelling to east or Central Africa? Do u know that most of those countries only have one flight (sometimes none) a week frm Nigeria. It is sometimes easier to fly to spain and connect Equatorial Guinea than fly directly frm naija despite the fact that it is only an hour away. These pastors might actually have a point though I don't support the idea of each GO owning a private jet. I believe 5 churches could own one and the GOs fit share am

musKeeto:
[img]http://3.bp..com/-Lt4bgksHZ-g/UMMZG2qffyI/AAAAAAAADyE/3W_wRPdUdkg/s1600/pastor-jet.gif[/img]

Not only acquiring private jet, na to become fighter jet...

Nwa oguta: How many private jets did jesus own during his time? GOD will judge all dis 419 pastors.

mechi onu dia!!!!! During d tym of Jesus did He not rode on carmel abi na horse sef...so during dis tym of Adeboye...na jets tnz....so let dia b peace.