Modern Christianity: Christ now attacked from within!
By Rev. Br. Kenneth Chigozie Alamezie, BSS
As elected harbingers of the Truth, when we choose to turn a blind eye to glaring evils around us, pitch tent with mendacious elements perpetrating such, it is a sure sign of our willful conspiracy against the Truth, synergy with the Liar, and the upshot of our action we must bear in due time…Kenneth C Alamezie, BSS
Today's Christianity, in virtually all quarters now, is apparently one that is speedily losing the salt and light that for ages had distinguished it from organized religions of the world.
It is no longer news that mammon worship has taken the center stage in modern Christendom; that majority of today's clergy have themselves become vibrant, adamant worshippers of mammon; that many Christians are now worshiping this god instead of our God. I think, what is news, though, is the fact that our generation seems to be working assiduously, even beyond its power, to make sure it hands this wickedness over to coming generations. It's a pity we humans don't learn easily from history!
Like the Israelites of old, who themselves thought Moses and God had both lost their way in their discussion in the open mount, hence pressurized Aaron to fashion them a substitute, modern Christians and their own Aarons seem to have toed along same path.
To the former, a Golden Calf caught their fancy, aroused their happiness and sense of fulfillment, whereas to the latter it is the Golden Coin, the paper notes (now the Naira in this clime). Isn't it amazing, how often history repeats itself! The mystifying part is that this trend as bizarre as it is bewildering has gained massive acceptance in today's Church world and as a result is rapidly becoming the norm. The truth of the gospel is swiftly becoming old-fashioned, as untrained ravenous elements, indeed insane minds have gone haywire in their bid to enthrone its replacement. And from all indications they appear to be making real success in that regard, as Materialism being the appealing message to virtually all men now has mounted the Ass, parading elegantly in many a church pulpit.
This being the iniquitous mother that gave birth to Mammon worship seems to be doing extraordinarily well in her job of raising her beastly child, as even her ungodly daughter's well built and brightly colored bed has now become the resting place of many a Christian soul. Needless to say that nearly all our Christian leaders have abandoned their first love and are now, like the he goat, following this brazen daughter of deception anywhere she goes, sucking, like a starving infant, the milk of her adulterous breast with reckless abandon. Thus, mischief abounds almost on every hand in today’s Christendom, and Christianity itself seems now to onlookers of other religions as a religion of fraud. Seeing how this evil trend keeps multiplying on a daily basis, and how majority, even the elect, are being swayed by her adulterous beauty, I can't stop wondering where in the world this uncanny evolution will eventually get us.
It' ridiculous what kind of attack Christianity is presently undergoing: the attack from within and orchestrated by supposed keepers of the house themselves. But didn't the Lord say that one's enemy would be members of his own household?! Christ's most daring enemies are now members of his own body; leaders, so-called anyway, who have fashioned for themselves and those they are leading another god-Mammon-- beside God and His Christ. Sure, I wouldn't try to query it if someone opined it's the foretold desolating sacrilege that would crawl up into the holy place!
But the Nigeria case has a more terrifying dimension to it, adding also the agonizing proliferation of its sister scandal-sex worship-which has rather become a blot on the landscape. Sex abuse of all kinds, though sinister and disastrous to man, is gradually becoming no wrong in the Nigerian Church. Whether or not the rise and wild circulation of pornographic materials via sundry handles has added a quick boost to this disgrace threatening Christianity in this clime remains a question for another day. The point here is that Christianity has come under severe attack, more than it has ever witnessed since that Pentecost experience that gave it life in Jerusalem.
Although one could say that mammon worship in religion didn't start with us here in this era, as Scripture has numerous accounts of where such happened both in the OT and NT era; yet it is not in doubt that the trend in this era has become something else, obviously nothing the world has ever witnessed before.
For instance, we have some examples of where such happened in Bible times and almost with impunity. In fact, on one occasion our Lord, when he couldn't bear anymore the terrible escapades of temple thieves, took up a whip and chased those greedy lots and their animals out of the temple. Another example standing out is the one of the apostle-Traitor, Judas Iscariot, who had a terrible spirit of greed in him. In fact the beloved and love apostle, John, said it plainly in Scripture that he was a thief, as he would often help himself to the general purse. And he didn't go scot free; we all know how his bowel split open and his entrails poured out on the earth! But, like the apostle, John, is it possible we can get among today's Church elders one who could boldly call out these temple thieves here with us and their ungodly business empires often run as Church, in their rightful names, condemn their malice against God and humanity as they rightly deserve without painting words? Can we get one who could look them in the face and tell them they are heartless rogues? Like the Master did, can we get one who could start up a sort of Whipping process to checkmate and chase these vicious marauders out of our temples? I leave you to answer these questions.

There is another involving the dubious couple, Ananias and Sapphira whom Peter rebuked sharply resulting to the duo's sudden death. Now in each of these cases, we could see the perpetrators of the evil receiving what is due them, by way of sharp rebuke, at least, which is foreign to modern Church, especially in Nigeria where church shepherds commit whatever atrocity they deem fit and get away with it. Instead of a sharp rebuke, an open one even, at least, they seem to be given a pat in the back by those occupying the honorable position of an overseer.
Now imagine then how many thieves we have accumulated today in Church by this indifferent attitude of our respective Church elders, especially among the so-called revered ordained ministers of the Word, who not only help themselves to their respective church's general purse, but have also become resolute in this wicked act. And as if that is not enough, some of these temple robbers have extended their wicked arms a bit and are now directly or indirectly snuffing the life out of their unsuspecting fellow contributors to the general purse, without anyone saying or doing anything to bring them to book! Instead, those who are in the position to speak up against this ungodly act seem themselves to have a bridle of a sort around their mouths, making the situation to worsen by the day. Perhaps they are also guilty of the same act, who knows! Perhaps they want the dreaded EFCC to extend their drag net a bit, who knows!
In many quarters today, the faithful are no longer taught the way of perfection, but the way of donation. They are no longer taught the spiritual laws of sowing and reaping guiding the universe, but the dubious inventions of degenerate minds, which state that you reap what and where you did not sow. Imagine when a minster would stand and shamelessly be giving his congregation a self-produced prophetic diet, spiritual poison indeed, of supernatural bank payments in their respective bank accounts, even when the latter haven’t made any business transaction whatsoever in the first place! Little wonder criminality is on the high rate. When men are no longer taught the indispensability of the spiritual law of love in every affairs of life, why wouldn't they become killing machines to each other? I bet you we haven't seen anything yet!
Mammon worship is the bane of many a country, empires that have wounded up into oblivion. Scripture calls it the love of money and says it is the root of all evil. Indeed in it you can find the root of every kind of anomalies besieging mankind in this world; for when one thinks praying for one's daily bread is stupidity, such a one can do just about anything to get himself a ‘yearly bread’.
This is where today's Super Apostles, Pastors, Priests, Reverends, Prophets, etc get it all wrong. In their bid to secure for themselves " yearly bread" against the Lord's proposition of a daily braid in that beautiful prayer he carefully taught his apostles, they end up using all manner of callous schemes to extort money from their ignorant members. In this way they have become more depraved and resolute in the act than their Father, Judas Iscariot.
Interestingly, some who are now doing their work but are still claiming such to be God's work, in other to defend their atrocious quest for filthy lucre, would argue their beclouded hearts out that Jesus wasn't a poor man whilst doing his Father's work here on earth, hence their reason for being quite unreasonable in their dealings with earthly riches and taxing of their mediocre members. They would preach to gullible folks the gospel according to themselves, citing some portions of the OT writings and synoptic gospels as backup for their claim. While pursuing madly to acquire limos or airplanes, build houses for themselves and those of their households, they would cite Jesus riding on a colt as an example and backup for their misdoing. They would argue Jesus never begged anyone for anything, forgetting though that he-Jesus-- borrowed from folks, even the Ass on which he rode his way into Jerusalem. On one occasion, he borrowed even from a kid to feed a crowd. This is not to promote the idea of borrowing for God's Children, no! The Lord himself never said we would live by that, neither did he promise nor prayed for that on our behalf. Instead, he said if we give in sincerely to his Father's work, we would reap, here and then, a hundred fold reward. Isn't it amazing, what he has in mind for his ministers? But why are many today not content with reaping the promised hundred fold the Lord's way? Why have they instead pushed the margin up much higher to 'reap a thousand and or million fold' and that outside the Lord's way?
Incidentally, if Jesus and His apostles were so wealthy, as is so often claimed by modern prosperity preachers, one would have to wonder why Judas would betray the One who was helping him to get rich in hopes of gaining enough money to buy a field. Of course it's obvious Judas didn't understand the Lord's teaching and idea of his ministers relying on Divine providence for their needs, which in fact is faith in action, the reason he wanted to, in modern language, make the hare while the Sun shines (after all "ebe onye na aru ka osi eri, onye ma echi--who knows tomorrow). But in due time, God will bring every deed to light, which is my consolation. God bless you!