THE CURSE OF THE NIGERIAN 'BIG G' GOD

The narrow, dirt streets in southern cities like Aba and Port Harcourt are lined with zinc and wood structures with motorcycles parked in front of them and worshipers dancing to praise songs in traditional languages with their white handkerchiefs. On the wide, tarred major roads, gigantic churches - beautiful by all standards and filled to the brim - add valor to the streets with the large billboards and newest cars parked in front of them. Up north, mosques are fewer, larger and even more elegantly adorned than churches but filled up nonetheless.

The religious faithful gather to pray, women lined up behind men, either in these tall, gold majestic mosques or on the corners of the streets where there are no official structures. In Lagos or Abuja or any other major city where migrant tribes are as dominant as indigenous ones,  the religions are not as distinct from each other; mosques sit side by side with churches. It is Nigeria, where almost the entire population identifies as either Christian or Muslim.
The most populous sub-Saharan nation embodies historical, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity as well as diversity of religious traditions including indigenous religions, new Spiritual movements and various strands of Christianity and Islam. The distribution of Christians and Muslims is stark in the predominantly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south but not as stark in the Western region, where Christians and Muslims exist in almost even numbers. The scriptures of the major holy books of each religion, the Bible and the Q'uran are plastered on the walls of homes, cars and city walls.
Religion continues to shape the ways in which Nigerians interpret the complexities of their existence and surrounding realities; to the extent of religion serving as a panacea for problems of day to day living. Christianity and Islam are the predominant practices in Nigeria with 45% of Nigerians identifying as Muslim and another 45% identifying as Christian. However, both religions are thoroughly influenced by indigenous religious and cultural traditions. One clear distinction between the two main monotheistic religions in Nigeria and the African Traditional Religions (ATRs) is that the former have sent God to Heaven while the latter have their gods on Earth.
When God was sent to heaven, He was sent along with the godliness and virtue that men used to have for things around them. All of a sudden, the Earth and its fullness thereof were no longer sacred because God had been removed from them. In fact, monotheistic religions encouraged their members to not only dominate but conquer the Earth. The Earth became a mere tool for man's anthropocentric agenda; nothing more than a base upon which man can proudly stand to exterminate everything else that existed in unison before man came along. The Earth became a less worthy being, one that deserved taming and exploitation. The Earth became a wildfire to douse, her parts became objects of war and her less mighty people became like mud to trample upon.
This is what happened with the Nigerian 'big G' God.
Nigerian monotheists spend more time justifying their God than they do serving Him and having God-like virtue is like having lady-like characteristics: if you have to defend it constantly with more words than character, you probably don't have it. Bring a piece of God back down to Earth. Bring an even smaller piece back down to Nigeria. We need it. If humans are greater species because humans have souls, how about we nurture and cultivate rather than destroy and conquer?
Monotheistic religion in Nigeria is both a blessing and a curse. Yet, this sentence will probably anger many Nigerians because God is the one part of Nigerian "culture" that Nigerians have refused to accept is borrowed especially as Nigerians are very inconsistent in their definition of 'culture' and 'foreign', per convenience. Monotheistic religion is the one part of Nigerian culture that Nigerians profess the most and understand the least. Monotheistic religion is the worst vice the colonials left Nigerians with because they left a piece of their arrogance, a piece of their self-righteousness on over a 100 million sheep.
I find God in the swaying leaves, in the sturdy mountains and in the chill of the river. In the same breath that we enthrone Him on high, we must regard Him in the simple things. If we did, we would not devastate a community's livelihood in Ogoni because our foolish wisdom discovered oil. If we did, we would not steal from the poor and give to the rich. If we did, we would not define our progress by how many churches are found on each street but by how many of our children are righteous and how many of our old men are wise. Righteousness is like wealth, those who've mastered its craft don't need to speak about it; their lifestyles do without much effort. Religion can be a virtue in Nigeria but it isn't one yet. Until then, like I have mentioned before, Nigeria is not a literary and artistic land of contradictions but a pitiful paradox.

Oluwafunmilayo Oyatogun is the founder of BailiffAfrica.Org.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN?

In Genesis 32: 25, Jacob wrestled with God. The Bible says that, God touched “the hollow of his (Jacob’s) thigh.” In Genesis 47: 29, when Jacob was near his death, he asked Joseph to swear an oath not to bury him in Egypt by, “putting your hand under my thigh.” What does ‘thigh’ in those expressions mean? Who puts his hand under someone’s thigh to swear? Was it an ancient tradition? Does ‘thigh’ refer to something else in Hebrew, the original language of the Jews used in the Old Testament scripts? Or was it a euphemism?
Ziony Zevit, a professor of Biblical Literature and Northwest Semitic Languages at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles states that the world “tsela” in Hebrew does not mean ‘rib’ as translated in Genesis. He said that it means ‘side’ literally. In his book, “What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden?” he suggested that ‘rib’ does not make sense in the story of creation that was littered with sexual innuendo. He said that the writers of the book of Genesis used ‘tsela’ as a euphemism for ‘baculum’ – penis bone- found in Chimpanzee, gorilla and males of other mammals. There is no term for penis in Biblical Hebrew. In a way, the story in Genesis provides a mythological explanation for the lack of this bone in man.

Put in that context, the line of the Bible that says, “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and He took the bone of Adam’s rib and made him a woman” will then read that God took the bone of Adam’s penis.

Translation is hard. Translating a text written and rewritten by many writers straight from oral tradition is a lot harder. It is a hardest when the translation is ordered by people with a particular agenda.

The King James Version of the Bible was 400 years old last year.

In 1604, King James I of England gathered 54 scholars at the Hampton Court Conference, all member of the Church of England, to translate the Bible into English. The King was concerned about problems in the available translations of the Bible. Out of the 54 scholars gathered, 47 finished the work in 1611.

The scholars were divided into six groups. Each group was responsible for a different part of the Bible. Some were based in Oxford, some in Cambridge while others were in London. They based their work on the Tyndale Bible, the first printed Bible translation into English from Hebrew and Greek, and on the Bishop’s Bible of 1568. The John Wycliffe Bible was the first English translation of the Bible in a manuscript form. It was banned in 1409 but its texts showed up in the Latin Vulgate. Tyndale Bible was succeeded by the Great Bible of 1539. The Reformed Protestants based in Geneva under John Calvin revised the Tyndale Bible and the Great Bible to produce the Geneva Bible.

The King James Version became the third printed translation of the Bible into English.

King James’ instruction to the translators was to make sure that the new Bible conformed with the ecclesiology of the Church of England. He was also interested in getting a Bible that would reflect the Church’s belief on the ordination of clergy. The other available Bibles at that time had divergent views. The King James Version was seen as ‘a document of political and theological compromise.’

Though the first edition claimed that it was translated “out of the Original tongues,” it was clearly based on the two previous English translations. Scholars were correcting grave errors on the margins of the previous translations like one in the Great Bible where, ‘They were not obedient;’ was translated into ‘They were not disobedient.’

The scholars made draft of changes they recommended on the margins of specially printed Bishop’s Bible. They compared and revised these works. A general committee made general changes with the Archbishop of London having the final say.

The 1611 print was made before the standardization of the English language. Spelling of words, punctuation and grammar were later revised. In the preface, the translators stated that their goal was not to make a bad translation good but to make a good translation better.

Initially the new Bible was rejected by leading Bible scholars of the time. They still preferred the Latin Vulgate. It took a long time for the King James Version to become universally accepted. It reached that height in early 18th century. That was when a challenge to its text was seen as an assault on the Holy Scripture. For over 250 years, the King James Version was the dominant Bible.

Though dominant, thousands of changes have been made in the course of time. From 1638 to 1762 the text had a lot of printers’ errors. In 1631, the Eight Commandment read: “Though shall commit adultery.” That edition is often referred to as the Wicked Bible. In 1653 another error in 1 Corinthians stated that the unrighteous shall inherit the earth. That edition is called the “Unrighteous Bible.” There are greater mistranslations noticed over the years. It is so widespread that each reinterpretation seems to lead to yet another version of the Bible.

Though the King James Version of the Bible was the most influential, it was, like others before and after it, aimed at satisfying its own interest group – in this case, the Church of England. It is not impartial and its translation has been questioned over the years. As our understanding of the world of the biblical age increases, so are questions about the translations. Archaeological excavations have unearthed ancient documents that question the understandings and translations of the texts. The Bible’s continuing translation problems remain us that it a book of other people who lived in other times and spoke other languages.

“The Christian appropriation of the Jewish scripture involved allegorical or figural readings of many of the texts,” says the introduction of the Oxford World’s Classics of The Authorized King James Version of The Bible. “Often, however, these did not so much replace literal readings as complement them, so that multi-level, or polysemous, readings became the normal method of biblical interpretation.”

Unlike the Quran which is in Arabic, the language of the founder and most of the adherents, the Bible came about from scriptures written in a language that no Christian spoke. The Christians believe that the translation of the Bible was inspired. The Muslims believe that the English version of the Quran is not a translation and does not have the inspiration they find in the Arabic Quran.

The Bible, unlike the Quran, evolved from oral tradition. It was written by several writers over a long period of time and in several languages. It was put together by a committee.
The King James Version has remained the most influential translations of the Bible. It is also ranked as one of the influential books in the English language. It makes up over 15% of all American Bible purchases.

As we celebrate the birth of Christ and the 401 years of the King James Version of the Bible, we remember that we still do not know what really happened in the Garden of Eden.
 
By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

SHALL WE BAN RELIGION?

I got the first phone call just before 1:00pm, UK time.  This was Tuesday 13th November 2012.  It was from my sister in Lagos.  She was frantic.  Our younger brother’s wife was bleeding, losing a lot of blood, laid out on a bed at the National Hospital, Abuja.  She had just delivered a baby, their second in just over two years.  My sister informed me that despite serious pleas from everyone in the family, from clinical staff at the hospital, and from concerned strangers, my brother refused to give his consent for his wife to have blood transfusion.
Why?  Unfortunately for his wife, my brother is a Jehovah’s Witness.
I called my brother and spoke to him.  He didn’t budge.  He said his faith; his religion forbids its members from accepting blood under any circumstance.  Though I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, I said that it was ok.  I told him that he could refuse blood transfusion when he is the patient, but since it was his young wife at death’s door, he should give consent for the treatment for her.  I added that after his wife has been saved, he could go ahead and ask for forgiveness from the anti-transfusion god, and once again reconcile himself to his faith.
He declined.  
I then went into the medical aspect of what was happening.  I informed my brother that the average male has only about 5.5 litres of blood in their body.  The average female has even less.  I told him that if the body loses too much of that, there wouldn’t be enough for the heart to pump, and the heart would stop beating.  The patient will die.  He still didn’t budge.  In fact, he promptly hung up on me.  I called him back a few more times but the young man refused to answer his phone.
I called back my sister in Lagos and reported my failure.
T
he second call came at exactly 2:00pm.  This time my sister was crying.  The young lady has died.
I immediately called my brother again.  I wanted to tell him to take and bow and to clap for himself.  But he was still refusing to take my calls.
I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about religion.  I know that religion has its many benefits, but I am beginning to wonder whether these are outweighed by its negative aspects.  Most people appear to check their intelligence at the door when it comes to their religion and practicing their faith. 
Unfortunately, my brother is one of them.  I couldn’t believe that an educated man (he has a Master’s degree from the University of Ibadan) would sit around and watch his wife die when he could have very easily prevented her death by signing a piece of paper.  What has religion done to us?
I called my other sister in Abuja to get more details.  I wish I hadn’t.  
She informed me that she spent more than an hour on her knees begging our brother to give his consent for his wife to be given blood, but he refused.  He refused her, and he refused all pleadings from the medical staff, some of whom were begging him with tears in their eyes.  He was told repeatedly that without blood transfusion, his wife would die.  He wasn’t moved.  He informed them all that if his wife died from bleeding and never got blood transfusion, she would go straight to Heaven.  This is a novel idea.  If only Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Abacha and the rest of them knew this nice little secret.  All they needed to do was slit their own wrists and the express lift to Heaven would have come for them.
Then it got worse.  I was informed that the young lady’s mother was present throughout at the hospital.  The doctors went to her to give consent for her daughter to be given blood to save her life, but the mother also refused!
She too is a Jehovah’s witness.  She maintained throughout that only the husband can give consent, she would not.  
In desperation, the doctors called the young lady’s younger brother who is a junior doctor in Jos.  The deceased worked at the National Assembly and was the main breadwinner in her birth family.  She paid for the education of all of her siblings, including that of this junior doctor.  As the doctors in Abuja pleaded with him on the phone to give consent for his sister to receive blood to save her life, this junior doctor demurred.  He directed that she be given some coagulants and blood clotting agents.  He was informed that all of that has been tried but the patient was still losing blood.  In the end, he refused to give consent.  He claimed that it was the duty of his sister’s husband, not his, and terminated the call.
He too is a Jehovah’s witness.  A doctor!  What has religion done to us?
Before this, I have never imagined that any mother could sit on a chair, fold her arms and watch her child die and not do something about it.  This was a child she gave birth to and nurtured, and who in turn, had been taking care of her in her old age.  I don’t know whether I’m the one losing my mind.  What has religion done to us?
Anyway, the mother and my brother were finally called to go to the lady’s bedside as it became obvious that she was struggling through her last breaths.  Mama ran in the opposite direction shouting, “Jehovah o!  Jehovah is life!  Life is Jehovah!”
qqqqMy brother took his place by his wife’s bedside and watched life ebb out of her.  He stood there and watched her die.  What kind of boldness is that?  What kind of cold-heartedness is that?  When asked why he did what he did, he responded that when he dies, he would marry his dead wife again in Heaven!  Is this logical?  I have to confess that I am not the most religious person in the world, but are there marriages in Heaven?  Are we going to continue having more children in Heaven?
More importantly, would God be pleased with a person who had the power to save one of his children, one of his creations, but deliberately refused to do so?  It is one thing to watch helplessly and only give comfort as someone lies dying on a motorway, but to deliberately and actively withhold life-saving consent?  Especially to your own wife?  Your own child?  Your own sister?
My brother has become a latter-day Abraham.  He even went further by sacrificing his wife on the altar of religious principles.  But why are some religious people like this?  Is it the fear of going against the grain of their faith’s community?  Is it the fear of being seen or being thought as not faithful enough by their fellow religious comrades?  Is it the shame of being considered weak by one’s religious peers?  And if this is the case, are these feelings not trumped by love for another human being?  Personally, I think that it has got to be illiteracy of the mind.
Once upon a time, the Earth was thought to be the centre of the Universe.  That was the Church’s established view.  It was widely accepted that the Sun and all heavenly bodies revolved around an unmoving Earth.  Furthermore, it was thought that if the Earth moved, why are we not flung off its surface?  As Copernicus and science began to intrude, the Church was compelled to re-assert that the idea that the Sun stood still and that the Earth moved were "false" and "altogether contrary to Holy Scripture."  Well, Galileo later published a book, ‘Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems’ in which he argued and proved that the Earth is not the centre of the Universe, and that the Earth does move.  The Church and its head, Pope Urban VIII (who was actually Galileo’s friend) were enraged.  In 1633, Galileo was arrested and found guilty of Heresy.  His book was banned, he was forced to recant, and was placed under house arrest until he died.
But all of that took place in the 16th and 17th centuries.  Why are people today still favouring antiquated religious policies over love for one another – especially after the advent of Jesus Christ?  It cuts across all strata!  I don’t get it!  
The entire belief system of Jehovah's Witnesses is founded on the basis of its teachings about the second coming of Christ.  They are so fixated on the end of the world that they sit there, petrified, unable to move forward.  From year dot, they have been making loud predictions about this.  Some examples:
•    1877: Christ's kingdom would hold full sway over the earth in 1914; the Jews, as a people, would be restored to God's favor; the "saints" would be carried to heaven
•    1891: 1914 would be "the farthest limit of the rule of imperfect men.”
•    1904: "World-wide anarchy" would follow the end of the Gentile Times in 1914.
1914 came and went.  Nothing happened.
•    1916: World War I would terminate in Armageddon and the rapture of the "saints”
•    1920: Messiah's kingdom would be established in 1925 and bring worldwide peace. God would begin restoring the earth. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other faithful patriarchs would be resurrected to perfect human life and be made princes and rulers, the visible representatives of the New Order on earth. Those who showed themselves obedient to God would never die.
•    1922: The anti-typical "jubilee" that would mark God's intervention in earthly affairs would take place "probably the fall" of 1925.
•    1924: God's restoration of Earth would begin "shortly after" October 1, 1925. Jerusalem would be made the world's capital. Resurrected "princes" such as Abel, Noah, Moses and John the Baptist would give instructions to their subjects around the world by radio, and airplanes would transport people to and from Jerusalem from all parts of the globe in just "a few hours."
1925 came and went.  We are still here.  Things are still the same.
•    1938: In 1938, Armageddon was too close for marriage or child bearing.
•    1941: There were only "months" remaining until Armageddon.
•    1942: Armageddon was "immediately before us."
Hmm…
•    1966: It would be 6000 years since man's creation in the fall of 1975 and it would be "appropriate" for Christ's thousand-year reign to begin at that time. Time was "running out, no question about that." The "immediate future" was "certain to be filled with climactic events...within a few years at most", the final parts of Bible prophecy relating to the "last days" would undergo fulfillment as Christ's reign began.
•    1969: The existing world order would not last long enough for young people to grow old; the world system would end "in a few years." Young Witnesses were told not to bother pursuing tertiary education for this reason.
•    1971: The "battle in the day of Jehovah" was described as beginning "shortly, within our twentieth century".
•    1974: There was just a "short time remaining before the wicked world's end" and Witnesses were commended for selling their homes and property to "finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service."
Nope.  Nothing happened.  1975 came and went un-obstructively as well.  
Well, after mama ran away, my brother too voted with his feet.  He couldn’t be found for a few hours.  Eventually he showed up and took his day-old baby over to our sister in Abuja to look after.  The next day, ten of his fellow Kingdom-hallers turned up to stare at the baby.  I cannot help but wonder what would have been going through their minds.  Would they be jubilating that a fellow member has been ‘martyred’ by her husband?  Are they happy that a needless and easily preventable death took place in their midst?
My brother is now faced with the daunting task of raising two infants on his own.  I wonder whether he has thought much about the future.  What would he tell his children when they become old enough and ask about their mother?  Is he going to lie to them for the rest of his life?  They would find out eventually, of course.  And when they do, would they thank him for the leading role he played in their mother’s death?
And bringing up those two infants on his own would be tough – very tough.  I assume he would have to stay single now for the rest of his life since he claimed that when he dies, he would remarry his dead wife in Heaven.  It would therefore be illogical for him to marry someone else again in this world.  That would complicate things for him in Heaven, unless Jehovah Witnesses are entitled to marry more than one wife in the great beyond.
But God is so patient!  The many mad things we do in His name!  What a waste.  What a complete waste of human life and human potential.  What has religion done to us!
Well, three days later, my brother called me.  He was looking for N250,000 towards funeral cost.  Of course I hung up on him…

By Michael Egbejumi-David

demdem@hotmail.co.uk
Twitter: demdemdem1

GOD'S PRIVATE JETS AND LIMOUSINES

And it came to pass, that the congregation of the Lord in the Word of Life Bible Church took count of the forty years marked by the wonderful things that Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, had done through his humble servant, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, in their lives and they were ashamed that they had treated the anointed servant of the Lord very poorly. They had left him to the indignity of traveling by car and commercial air travel to his many deliverance missions in near and far places even when his fellow Daddy Overseers owned private jets. And being deeply shamed, they said unto themselves, Behold, in this year of our Lord, our father in Christ shall mark the fortieth year of the “unique anointing upon his life” that has “brought Salvation, Deliverance, Revival, Healing and outstanding Miracles to millions across the world as God’s power is demonstrated with signs and wonders.”

Now, therefore, let us hasten and do unto him according to the riches with which the Lord has blessed us; let us buy for him a private jet. And in this, we shall do as our brethren in the Living Faith Ministries did unto Bishop David Oyedepo, and in the Redeemed Christian Church of God unto Pastor Enoch Adeboye, and in the Redeemed Evangelical Mission unto Bishop Mike Okonkwo, and in Christ Embassy Church unto Pastor Chris Oyakhilome. Then shall we present the aircraft as a gift to our Papa Ayo, that he may fly without hindrance, delay or discomfort to the farthest reaches of the world, where the people walk in darkness and do not know God, and have not confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal savior, for behold, the kingdom of God is at hand. Yea, let us do this mighty thing in the sight of the Lord that we may cease to be the laughing stock of our brethren in Christ who say of us, Surely, their God is a poor God! Wherefore do they preach prosperity? Oh, their God is a poor God indeed!
And it came to pass that on the 10th day of November in the year of the Lord, which also is the anniversary of his birth, the congregants presented unto their pastor, Papa Ayo, who also is the spiritual leader of Christians in all of Nigeria, a Bombardier 601 Aircraft, the cost of which is about $5 million. And the same was done in the presence of the President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, who knows a thing or two about not one but a fleet of jets and their constant replenishment. And the president, whom Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, appointed over his people in the un-promised land of Nigeria, gave testimony of the servant of the Lord in words that I understand thus, Verily I say unto you, Papa Ayo is the uniquely anointed son of God in whom He is well pleased. Hear and honour him with every material thing of which your hands and the blessing they have received are capable; but which, in his own words, went thus, “I can say without any equivocation that Oritsejafor, from the very humble beginning in 1972, has moved from strength to strength. … he is a Christian visionary leader who preaches the words (sic) of God clearly and eloquently as a good shepherd … He has earned his respect among his peers and this explains why he is holding the two very important positions in Christendom in Nigeria as the President of CAN, and President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria.”
 And the congregants made a great shout, such as could have felled the walls of Jericho, and there was dancing and merriment and the offering of praise to Jehovah who had brought this great deed to pass, according to his riches and glory, that the world may know that he is Lord and there is none like him.
Since Pastor Oritsejafor loudly entered the Jet-set Club, many Nigerians disturbed by the phenomenon of unabashed embrace of a hedonism usually associated with the heathen have begun to ask questions about what a true life of the spirit entails. And the fruits of the prosperity gospel that has overawed a nation steeped in grinding poverty have now begun to set on edge the teeth of a few in the fold. Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, for instance, does not believe that without private jets the gospel suffers. And I agree. After all, Mary Slessor did not sail from Scotland to Calabar in a private ocean liner. Nor did St Paul or any of the apostles, founders of evangelism, need the equivalent of a private yacht for their mission. Bakare sees not soul-winning but soul-weaning, the separation of church-goers, majority of them poor, from their means of keeping body and soul together. He sees thieves in priests’ clothing and would have them imprisoned and then cast into the hottest part of hell on judgement day.
But not so some of his brethren whose doctrine of prosperity has long done away with the key tenet of sacrifice. So we have heard the defenders of high-flying predator capitalists in cassock and collar, and very often in pin-striped suits, say that a pastor is deserving of his reward. Here on earth.“There is nothing wrong for a preacher to own (sic) a jet. If people in the secular world can acquire jets for chief executive officers of big private enterprises, there is nothing wrong in giving gifts to a man of God of Pastor Oritsejafor’s standing. … He deserves what he has been given,” says one Reverend El-Buba, General Overseer of Evangelical Bible Outreach Ministries International, Jos, clearly anticipating his own jet for the glorious all-nations-for-Christ crusades and revivals; though this always excludes, quite conveniently, places like North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, China, India, and even good old Judaist Israel. And, of course, there is nothing wrong with comparing self-proclaimed men of God and churches to CEOs and business enterprises!
The Pharisee-pastors and congregants defending crass materialism think they answer their critics by claiming that the jets belong to the church, and not to the Daddy Overseers. The only problem is the damning evidence of bondage to Mammon; of the manic setting up of treasures here on earth: palatial mansions, jewelry, fleets of luxury cars (even including stretch limousines).
Ye shall know the truth and the truth shalt set ye free? Here is the truth: the predator capitalists in cassock and collar are rich men in the manner of that poignant parable of Christ in Matthew 19. A rich man, who has followed the commandments, comes to the barefoot carpenter to know what else he might do to gain eternal life. Jesus says tells him to go and sell all that he has, distribute to the poor so he shall have treasure in heaven, and then “come and follow me.” Whereupon the rich man went away sorrowful, “for he had great possessions.” Prompting Christ to utter the famous words, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

By Ogaga Ifowodo
omoliho@gmail.com

PRIVATE JETS FOR JESUS

Should a pastor own a private jet? That this is even a debate issue in Nigeria reflects just how wayward some of our Christianity has travelled, particularly since the end of the civil war and the arrival of large piles of oil money.
We are good adopters, and in the past 20 or 30 years, these Christian strands in Nigeria have “grown” side by side with the monies flowing in the streets and the technologies produced by others. Christianity has moved from the pews into the realm of business, and from the pulpits to American-style television.
In the process, some of the emerging Christian leadership, adopting the culture of American television and stage, became celebrities and rock stars. Christianity became marketable, and marketability became mistaken for commercialization.
These pastors also became instant television producers, concerned about their looks and make-up as they prepared for worship services tailored for broadcasting. They worked on scripts and colours and lighting, and arrived in stardom wearing expensive suits and jewelry.
They became stars as their Ministry became a business. And since there is no business without politics, business took politics in its arms and kissed her.  Increasingly, pastors prayed not for right over wrong, nor simply for the mercy of God or the wisdom of Solomon, but for specific individuals or political parties.
Increasingly, pastors enshrined and preached the immediacy and centrality of prosperity, often praying for prosperity answers before nightfall.
Prosperity is good. In a way, our entire journey as homo sapiens is about prosperity: health, education, longevity; heaven is prosperity over earth, and if we make heaven, we triumph—that is, prosper—over humanity.
The problem is that some of our Christian leaders often neglected the fact that prosperity is not always about materialism. From their glittering thousand-dollar suits, some of them prospered into the best cars, alligator-skin shoes, suites in five-star hotels.
All of this often happened alongside barbaric businessmen, guzzling governors and looting legislators many of whom, in moments of guilt or periods of sickness or sadness, sought the comfort of a pastor.
As you know by now, many pastors pray with their eyes closed. It helps focus on the celestial, but also conveys the impression of holiness.
Evidently, it also helps block out the obvious: that some of the powerful people appearing for prayers in the dead of night, or conveniently arranging to meet with the pastor in faraway lands, are thieves who have robbed the people blind.
Now, forgiveness is normal in Christianity.  It is the foundation of the Christian Church, as the entire mission of Jesus Christ, in the Christian faith, was to take away sin and effect reconciliation with the Father.  It is the place of a Christian leader to help with that process, so when he engages a sinner, it is to be expected.
The only problem is that in Nigeria, some pastors have often seemed to close their eyes a little too much and too long: allowing celebrity thieves to impoverish the people longer or escape justice.  The pastor thereby becomes an accomplice, accepting vast “contributions” they had reason to know could not have come from a legitimate income.
In 2007, Archbishop Peter Akinola, the leader of the Anglican Church, showed up at a “glorious homecoming” celebration for one Olusegun Obasanjo, who had recently, reluctantly, and vindictively, given up the job of President of the Federal Republic.
“You have got the best in the world and your eyes have seen the worst in the world.  All that is left now is to make heaven,” he told Obasanjo.
He assured the former president that while he had finished his “horizontal fights,” his spiritual journey had just begun, and urged him to fight the battle of his conscience, and seek forgiveness from those he has wronged.
The people Obasanjo had wronged, for eight long years, were the people of Nigeria, and the good bishop knew it as did all of the pastors who followed Obasanjo around and prayed with him routinely.
Akinola told Obasanjo God had blessed him with everything.   “You have enough money, you have enough houses, you have enough land, enough (cars), and enough properties, even enough children and all should be enough God has given you far too many houses.  What to eat is not your problem.  Paying children’s school fees is no longer your problem…”
He did not tell Obasanjo that all those riches were at the expense of his deeply disappointed people.
Indeed, many of the Christian leaders who interpret Christianity as a tool for personal prosperity pretend to see no link between bad governance and the manna from heaven they preach to their exhausted congregations.  For them, their access to the corridors of power is merely part of their own prosperity. 
They do not see their blindness to bad governance to be collusion, or their silence to be support.
This is really a double rape, because on the other side, the pastors collect relentlessly from the poor to fund an affluent lifestyle.  It is the collections that are now said to be lucrative enough for pastors to bank hundreds of millions of Naira in personal wealth, and purchase jets by which to rule the sky.
In the case of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), he did not even have to work at buying the jet himself: his congregation presented it to him as a “gift.”  It is impressive when a congregation can raise $40 or $50 million to buy a jet.
According to a recent newspaper story, in Nigeria private jet ownership has grown by 650 per cent in the past five years, with those wealthy enough to afford it, including our pastors, spending about $7.5 billion
Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah has described this trend on the part of Christian leaders as an embarrassment because it diminishes the moral voice of the church in the fight against corruption.
It is not surprising that he immediately came under attack.  Sunday Oibe, a spokesman for CAN, said: “If there is any clergyman in the country whose constituency is government, it is Bishop Kukah, who served every government in power in the last decade.”
Kukah, he accused, served in the Obasanjo government, only to later attack the former president.  Kukah, he accused, fraternized with former Governors James Ibori and Peter Odili.
Kukah never served in the Obasanjo government.  “Fraternized” with corrupt governors?  Does that mean he knew them, accepted contracts from them, used them as his route to riches and glamour?
Which explains the very point: corruption fights back.  Corruption not only defends itself; in Nigeria, it advertises in Eagle Square.  Corruption blackmails; on the offensive, it paints everything in its own colours.
The obvious is that it is those pastors who buy jets remind one less of a Christian leader and more of a playboy or a corrupt former governor.  A pastor who buys a jet, even from “legitimate” resources, cannot avoid being perceived as being corrupt or compromised
The reason is that a private jet is not just a mode of transportation.  It symbolizes a lifestyle of opulence and challenges the Christian values of humility.  It suggests matching riches and possessions, affluent luxury homes, exotic cars, expansive hotel suites and immense bank accounts.
A private jet, for a Christian leader, suggests the corruption of the Christian spirit and contradicts the life of Christ and the ability to live a life of humility and compassion, or to serve the poor.
A private jet may be transportation to a businessman, and a Christian leader can argue eloquently that he needs it to simplify his mission.  In a country as desperate as Nigeria, the only destination to which a luxury private jet transports a pastor is away: from his ability to confront power, and from the mission.


By Sonala Olumhense
sonala.olumhense@gmail.com

PROSPERITY PASTORS AND 419 IN THE CHURCH -PART 3

In this part-3 of my essay on Prosperity Gospel and 419 in the Church, I’ll like to conclude it with some teachings–using especially the teachings of Jesus Christ on prosperity in terms of money and material possessions.  Sadly, today, millions of Pentecostal and Word of Faith churches and Christians have this erroneous belief that prosperity is simply about money, riches, wealth, abundance, and material possessions.  Nothing can be further from the truth.  It is also that erroneous belief that led some of these bishops to start acquiring jumbo jets because for them, prosperity equates material possession and great faith in God. Such faulty thinking, ostentation, luxury and flamboyant lifestyle is not only irresponsible and unwise but evil and wicked.
The apostle Paul writes,
“Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.  Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.  He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.  He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap” (1Timothy 3:1-7).
First Timothy 3:1-7 not only give the moral and spiritual qualifications of those called to have pastoral oversight in the church, but also encourages personal holiness.  The focal point of the qualifications falls on behavior that is persevered in godliness, godly wisdom, faithfulness to God and His Word, loyalty and love for Christ and the gospel, purity in the face of temptation and shun for earthly materialism.  The bishop must have godly leadership that is unblemished and faithfulness to the gospel of Christ.  
However, when you look into today’s churches especially in Nigeria, where millions still live in abject poverty, one cannot but conclude that the Nigerian Church is perverted and the gospel being propagated in many Pentecostal churches and by her charlatans is horrifying.  The prosperity gospel that is being promulgated today is nothing more than a shameless fraud, a scam, a phony scheme designed by false teachers for worldly, weak, poor and gullible Christians to enrich themselves.  
What is Prosperity? Six Kinds of Biblical Prosperity
Let us start by defining the biblical meaning of prosperity.  Joshua 1:6-9 reads,
“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua, the successor of Moses, the great leader of the Israelites was not a wealthy man in the sense of money and material possession like King David or King Solomon.  But the Bible said, he was a very prosperous man.  God prospered him in everything he did because he was a man of great faith, vision, courage, loyalty, obedience, prayer, and dedication to God and to the assignment that God called to do.  Joshua was a resolute leader.  He respected and obeyed the Word of God, and as a result God prospered him in all areas of his life.  Joseph the eleventh son of Jacob was also that kind man and leader.  God prospered him in wisdom because of his loyalty and obedience to God.  Despite that he was well-built and handsome and was in charge in Potiphar’s home, according to Genesis 39:6, he refused to succumb to the temptation of Potiphar’s wife or do such a wicked thing and sin against God (read Genesis 39-41).  Because of that God showed him favor and prospered him by making him the prime Minister of Egypt.
Joshua 1:6-9 also contain the clearest promise of prosperity and successful living.  If you diligently study the Scriptures, you will notice that there are over 2000 passages in the Bible that deal and speak on prosperity, success, blessings, victory, favor, abundance, money, material blessings, as well as spiritual prosperity, and 700 of those passages alone speak on money.  There are at-least six basic kinds of prosperity and blessing taught in the Bible namely: Spiritual, Family, Mental, Physical, Social, and Financial prosperity.  True prosperity encompassed all these areas mentioned.  
And so, prosperity is not always associated with materialism.  Prosperity is more than money.  In fact, biblical prosperity is a spiritual blessing.  Proverbs 13:21 says, “Prosperity is the reward of the righteous.”  Is your bishop the only righteous person in your local congregation? Why is he the only one dressing fabulously, living large, riding in Bentley and flying in  private jets and his children attending best schools in Europe and America and here you are barely scraping by to survive and living in false hope.
According to Strong’s Complete Concordance of the Bible, prosperity is translated from the Hebrew word “Shalom.”  Shalom in Hebrew means completeness and soundness.  It also means favor, peace, and protection.  In fact, the Greek word for prosperity includes mercy, grace, joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness, goodwill, benefit, bounty, reward, kindness, benevolence, opportunity, advancement, etc.  Prosperity like salvation is a compound word that includes spiritual, mental, physical, social, health and financial wealth.
Financial prosperity is the least kind of biblical blessing and prosperity. However, in today’s society, the quest for money tops humanity priority more than any thing else.  Why does someone want to have lots of money when he or she is messed up mentally, emotionally, socially, and healthy-wise?  In our world today, we often hear or read about rich and wealthy people committing suicide with drugs, alcohol or literally taken their lives because of lack of genuine purpose and void in their lives despite their riches and wealth, and material possessions.  
True prosperity teachers should be teaching their followers how to prosper in their minds, in ideas, thinking, in their health, relationships, mental, emotional, social, and physical health.  They should be teaching their followers how to live right, think straight, and find better ways of doing things.  The amount of money in our churches today does not translate to any opportunities or advancement in our society at all.  It is a huge disconnect if only the bishops are rich and flying in private jets and the majority of their congregation is living in abject poverty financially, mentally, emotionally and health wise.  There must be a balance because only material prosperity wouldn’t make-up for the other areas of blessing that’s lacking.  We must be asking ourselves these questions– are we prospering in our minds, health, and relationships?  Are we prospering in our thought processes, ideas, thinking, creativity, and ways to live right and in peace and how to contribute and add value to society?  My friends, that’s what true and genuine prosperity is about.
Let me also make it clear, the Bible does not condemn money, riches, and material wealth.  King Solomon was not only the wisest and but the richest man that ever lived and will ever live.  King Solomon was a 1000 more rich than Bill Gates of America.  Noah was a wealthy man; Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Joseph, David, Solomon, etc., were all wealthy people. God delights in the prosperity of His people.  King David wrote in Psalm 35:25, “The LORD has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”  God rejoices when we are prospering financially. However, God is more pleased when we prosper spiritually.   Spiritual prosperity is the ultimate will of God for us (see 3 John 2).
Money is important and very useful to run our lives, families, government, and yes as well as Church.  It is so important that the Bible calls it “master.” In Matthew 6:24, Jesus says,   “No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and mammon (money).”   In Luke 16:13, Jesus reiterates the point again and said it this way, “No servant can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money.”  The pursuit (greed) for money, riches and wealth should not be our main focus in life.  The Bible calls it idolatry.  The demonic and selfish pursuit for it to the point of almost using savage means to get money is demonic and idolatrous.  That’s why the Bible teaches in First Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.  Some people eager for money have wandered from faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”   The apostle Paul further warns us in Hebrew 13:5 to keep our lives free from the love of money and be content with what we have, because God has said, “Never will he leave you; never will I forsake you.” The love for money and earthly treasures can divert attention from Jesus to worldliness and Satan.  Love for money and materialism can be a thief, a harlot, a false lover in that it can steal attention and hearts way from God.
It is also a fact that we humans are more concerned and worried about the physical and material needs of life – surely the basic necessitates of life such as food, shelter and clothing than political, social and even moral aspects of our lives. The global financial systems and housing meltdown especially in the United States that led to severe worldwide economic crisis, which caused millions to loose their jobs, homes and as a result many are committing suicides rather than live.  Although,  the Bible  teaches sound principles and gives practical wisdom to help believers navigate  tough times with confidence and even show us how God’s children and the church can thrive in times of economic crisis and financial woes, most Christians still care more about economics than spiritual matters.   
What Are Some of the Teachings of Jesus Christ on Prosperity?
The teachings of Jesus on money and financial prosperity are very instructive. Barely seven to eight weeks into His ministry, Jesus began a series of teaching, which is popularly known as “Sermon on the Mount.” He began to teach on series of topics such as the  Beatitudes, Salt and Light, the Fulfillment of the Law, Murder, Adultery, Divorce, Oaths, An Eye for an Eye, Love for Enemies, Giving to the Needy, Prayer, Fasting, Treasures in heaven , Do not Worry  and suddenly to the astonishment of the disciples, Jesus began to teach them in parables.  All together Jesus taught His disciples about forty parables to illustrate the secrets of the kingdom of God  and heaven as well as powerful truths about money, riches, wealth, and material processions (Matthew 13:1-52).  He used the language of business, the principle of investing, property, bank, deposit, interest, money, wealth, trade, risk-taking.  He taught them in parable to reveal the power and secret to overcome greed, idolatry, and financial worries.
He told them, “But see first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” – Matt. 6:33. He admonished the disciples to keep the kingdom of God and His righteousness their number one priority.  If this priority is kept usually everything else will move into proper perspective.  He taught them to serve only God and to seek above all else His kingdom and His righteousness.  The Greek verb “seek” continually implies being continually absorbed in a search for something or making a strenuous and diligent effort to obtain the rule and reign of God in their lives.  
Jesus taught a lot more about money than salvation, love, kingdom, heaven, etc.  However, most of Jesus teaching about money, riches, wealth, and material possessions were in negative connotation.   Jesus taught on greed Luke 12:13-21 and warned about lack of generosity and selfishness.  He told them not to be ravenous, covetous, rapacious, gluttonous, insatiable, voracious, ostentatious, self-indulgent, flamboyant, and shun priggishness, luxury, and lust.  Those things are what we see and have in our churches today. In the parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus warns us to guard against all levels of greed.  Jesus taught that life does not consist in having many possessions and material things.  To explain this teaching, Jesus told a parable about a rich man who continued to build bigger and bigger barns to store all his grain and goods.  His attitude was that he would have an easy life because he had everything he could possibly want or need.  God’s response in the parable was that the man was foolish (You fool!) because when he died that night his goods would do nothing for him.  They would simply pass on to someone else.  Such a person is not rich toward God (1 Timothy 6:6-10; James 1:10).  
Jesus went on in the same chapter  to warn against worry, anxiety and teaches us that life is more important than food, material things, etc, consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them (Luke 12:24).  Consider how the lilies grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in his entire splendor was dressed like one of these – Luke 12:27.  But seek his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well – Luke 12:31, Mt. 6:33. The true significance of the Parable of the Rich Fool was to guard against greed, to make earthly gain or riches the desire of one’s life is a fatal error that leads to eternal loss (Luke 12: 20-21).  
Jesus spoke mostly about the dangers of money and earthly riches.  In Luke 15, the prodigal son didn’t even say, “Please give me.”  He simply demanded for his portion of his father’s wealth.  Before long, the young man ended in pigpen.  The fastest route to the pigpen begins with “Give me.” In Mark 4:19, we read that the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other possession chokes the word and it becomes unfruitful. Deceitfulness of riches is the quest for material possessions.  The deceitfulness of riches and the desires for possessions chokes the Word of God in the lives people families and society at large.
In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus says,
“Do not store up for you treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
In Matthew 6:24 and 31:33, Jesus gives us the priority of life.  ‘Do not worry saying, “what shall we eat” or what “what shall we drink” or what shall we wear,” for the pagans run after all these things – But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” The Kingdom of God is built on the cross not on bread and butter – not on the need of the belly.  In Luke 2:24, he said, “But woes to you who are rich for you have already received your comfort.” In Luke 18:24-25, “Jesus looked at him (rich ruler) and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!  Indeed, it is easier for a camel to g through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.  Without doubt, one of the Lord’s shocking statement, but the fact is that Jesus was still teaching on greed and warns against the pursuit of material wealth with idolatry, which is demonic.
In Luke 19, we read Jesus visitation to Zacchaeus, the rich tax collector, who earned his living by collecting more than he should from the people.  In fact Zacchaeus was called a sinner because he cheated the people (Luke 19:7).  And in those days, tax collectors were despised by the people.  Jesus off-course came to save that which is lost.  Jesus’ concern for Zacchaeus was to save his soul.  We also noticed that rather encouraging people to seek riches, Jesus actually elevates the status of the poor.  He loved the poor.  In fact he came for the poor and he preached to the poor in spirit Luke 21:3-4, “I tell you the truth; he said this poor widow has put in more than all the others.  All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth and abundance; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live by.”
Now, many Pentecostal and Word Faith movements Many Christians who hold to a prosperity doctrine are quick to use few passages to justify their prosperity message and God wants to bless you theology.  Look at all the rich saints in Old Testament Saints; they were all rich and wealthy.   Yes, the Old Testament saints were wealthy but not the priests.   They point to Jesus’ words in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and that they have it more abundantly.”  It is obvious that Jesus wants His people to prosper.  He wants to give us a good life, abundant quality and quantity.  However, these bishops and pastors twist the truth of John 10:10 and make it appear like the opposite if true – to say that God doesn’t want your life to be rich, exciting, and full of adventure is the greatest lie.  They misinterpret the word ‘abundant’ that Jesus uses here in verse ten to literally means to excel and super abound both in quality and quantity.  God wants you to super abound in every part of your life.
So, a quick glance of that verse could be interpreted to imply that God wants us to enjoy material prosperity.  However, that is not what the passage means.  The word for ‘life’ in this verse is ‘Zoë’, a word indicating “life in the spirit and soul.”  Another Greek word, ‘bios,’ from which we get the word ‘biology,’ also means “life”; but ‘bios’ is the word used to refer to physical, material life.  Of the two words, ‘Zoë’ is usually considered the more noble, higher concept of life.  Jesus was saying this:  “I want you to have an abundant life in the spirit, which is my highest and best for you.”   Actually, John 10:10 have nothing to do with material prosperity.  If abundant life meant having expensive houses and cars, parties and entertainment, then it would be legitimate to say that many non-Christians are experiencing abundant life.  By those criteria, members of the Mafia, Movie Stars, and Wall Street financial Wizards would certainly be considered blessed.  
Another key passage the faith and prosperity preachers use to bolster the prosperity message to defraud their clients is 3 John 2, which says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers” (3 John 2 KJV).  3 John 2 is one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible.  Almost every Pentecostal prosperity preacher interprets that verse to mean financial and material prosperity; in order words, to get rich and all the junks they teach to deceive people and justify their “god-wants-you-rich theology.”
The problem is that some not all of these pastors have never studied the words in original language or consulted a learned theologian.  Also part of the problem is that the King James translation of the Bible obscures the true meaning of the verse.  First, the phrase “above all things” creates confusion for many Christians.  The words make it sound as though our prosperity is at the top of God’s priority list for us.  But wait a minute- “Above all?”  Does that mean even above our salvation?  Of course not!  In fact, when one fellow asked Jesus what he thought was number one on God’s top list; Jesus’ answer included no reference to material prosperity at all. And Jesus answered him, the first of all the Commandments is, “Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  There is none other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:29-31).  Jesus was saying that our number once concern is to love God supremely; after that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Jesus did not even hint that material prosperity has anything to do with His priorities for our lives.  Why, then, would the apostle John say that “above all” we should have prosperity?  He didn’t.
Conclusion – Materialistic Gospel Message is a Ponzi Scheme
In conclusion, first, let me say that the aim of my articles on prosperity gospel and preachers is not to denigrate Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Word of Faith churches.  There is no doubt that since the Pentecostalism and Charismatic began in the early 20th century, the movement, without question has added value to the Christian faith.  Unlike the Protestants and Evangelicals, the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches have been a missionary minded denomination; due in part to the fact that the first Pentecostals taught that one central purpose of baptism in the Spirit was to endow the believer with power for evangelism.  In his book, “A Church to Believe In,” Rev. Dr. Peter C. Moore, writes, “Our Church does need to be Catholic in worship, Evangelical in experience, Reformed in doctrine, Pentecostal in Spirit, Charismatic in ministry, Liberal in ethos, and Global in scope [emphasis added].
Second, the aim is not to judge the prosperity preachers or even the parishioners.  You can take a horse to the river but you cannot force her to drink the water.  However, the prosperity gospel being peddled by many Televangelists today is a heresy, a false message and it is designed by false teachers to exploit the sick, poor and biblical illiterate Christians.   Most of the prosperity teachers are driven by the love for money not love for God, Christ, people or the gospel.  Their teachings are so toxic and demonic and it is corrupting and destroying lives.  Jesus rebuked false teachers and even called them thieves.  The apostle Paul calls it a “different,” “another,” and a “perverted gospel” (1 Corinthians 11:3-4, Galatians 1:6-9) and warned against the insatiable greed of false teachers and prophets.
One of the reasons for false teachings and doctrines is because the verses and passages of Scripture are taken out-of-context and promulgators refuse to learn the principles of biblical interpretation such as hermeneutics, exegesis, homiletics, and use of bible  resources such as bible dictionary, encyclopedia– and other bible references to study to show themselves study and show ourselves approved to God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed but who correctly handles the Word of Truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Prosperity gospel is a satanic scheme.  It does not offer eternal life or heaven or the fruit of the Spirit such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  But rather, it offers Satan, hell and acts of the sinful nature such as sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery, idolatry, and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealously, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, and envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like (Galatians 5:19-22).  Prosperity gospel is a ponzi scheme and a colossal fraud.  It is worse than Wall-Street scandal Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme.  Mr. Madoff defrauded rich people and greedy investors. Prosperity preachers are defrauding the poor, sick and the gullible. Materialistic gospel message is the worst kind of materialism and deception ever conceived by Satan and its cohorts.  
The truth gospel message is–about the cross, about the sinful condition of mankind and that God has provided remedy through the life and death of Christ.  It is about the cross, repentance, redemption, confession of our sins and to love God and your neighbor.  Jesus taught us– to love God, love our neighbor, do not sin, etc.  The true gospel involves sacrifice, suffering, and self-denial.  In Mathew 16:24, Jesus said to his disciples, “If any one would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” In Matthew 4:4 as well as in Deuteronomy 8:3 says, it is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  What we have today as prosperity message is a muddled and schismatic gospel, Satan’s gospel, a 419 scheme, a toxic and deadly scam designed for the sick, poor, gullible and biblical illiterate.
Wishing all a safe and super Thanksgiving holidays and may your life becomes genuinely prosperous!

Rev. C. K. Ekeke, M.Div., Ph.D., is a theologian, author, consultant and leadership scholar; he is the president of Leadership Wisdom Institute, USA

PASTORS WITH PRIVATE JETS AN EMBARASSMENT TO CHRISTIANITY

The acquisition of private jets by Christian leaders diminishes the moral voice of the church in the fight against corruption, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev Matthew Kukah, declared yesterday.
He spoke against the backdrop of the presentation of a private jet to the National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, by members of his church during the celebration of his 40th anniversary in the ministry penultimate Saturday.
Kukah, who was guest speaker at the annual Founder’s Day Anniversary lecture of Providence Baptist Church in Lagos, described exhibition of such opulence by church leaders as embarrassing.
The fiery cleric who spoke on ‘Church and the state in the pursuit of the common good’, said: “The stories of corrupt men and women being given recognition by their churches or mosques as gallant sons and daughters and the embarrassing stories of pastors displaying conspicuous wealth as we hear from the purchases of private jets and so on clearly diminish our moral voice.”
Kukah, who was represented by the Administrator of Holy Cross Cathedral Lagos, Rev. Monsignor Pascal Nwaezeapu, also expressed displeasure with the perceived closeness of the CAN leadership to the corridors of powers.
He said such alliance will weaken the ability of the church to speak the truth to elected public office holders.
According to him: “CAN has become more visible in relation to national prayer sessions, pilgrimages, alliances with state power and so on.
“Unless we distance ourselves, we cannot speak the truth to power. We cannot hear the wails of the poor and the weak. We should not be seen as playing the praying wing of the party in power.”
He challenged the church to speak against corruption in low and high places, saying such responsibility must never be jettisoned for any reason.
Apart from Orisejafor, other church leaders who own private jets include Founder of Living Faith Ministries, Bishop David Oyedepo; General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye; Founder of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Bishop Mike Okonkwo and Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy Church.

Says Bishop Kukah-The Nation

PAGANISM, MOTHER OF ALL RELIGIONS

Keep in mind that all the African symbols and rituals (of its Mystery System) described in the following paragraphs preceded Ethiopian/Chaldea/Babylonian Albigensianism by over 100 years, Hinduism by over 1000 years, Judaism by over 3,000 years, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism by over 3,500 years, Christianity by over 4425 years and Islam by nearly 5000 years.
Africans invented religion from which all the religions of the world took their bearing, ideas, dogma, structure, symbols, architecture, rituals and traditions.  African Osirianism was founded by many, consolidated by Ausar in 4100 BCE.  Africans created several Gods and do not worship the ‘One Source,’ which they revere and which in modern time, we call Tu-SoS.  No religion or spiritual movement worships the ‘One Source.’  The Jews do not worship Tu-SoS which they call En-Sof, instead, they worship the ten Gods they created and called Attributes of the One Source.  Christians elevated Yahweh, one of the Jewish ten attributes and created numerous Saints of worship along side the elevated ‘Attribute’ of the unworshipped One Source.  The Muslims converted the elevated Christian Saint or Attribute to Allah, and replaced the other Saints with their own Anubis for worship.
Africans created the spiritual trinity of Auser, a human, who after death became a deity, and whose Ghost pregnated his wife Auset, to produce Horus by ‘Virgin Birth.’  Christians, copying the African trinity idea, 4425 years after the African trinity concept, due to gross misunderstanding of the concept, created two, not three, personages in God the Father who is also the Ghost, and his Son.  Mother is left out of the equation entirely and a doubtful and cheated human husband stands by in Joseph, playing no role in the trinity.  Muslims do not believe that Allah can conceive anyone, so they created a Messenger.
Osirianism’s Holy day is Sunday.  Ausar’s birthday was converted from 26th to 25th December by the change in the Roman calendar, and was celebrated annually. A yearly pilgrimage was also performed to Auser’s burial site, and Ausar’s symbol was a tree without branches.   Variations of these concepts were copied by all religions and spiritual movements.  Africans believe and worship ancestors, which is what Jesus, Mary and the Saints are to Christians.  Africans believe in reincarnation, and Christians too are expecting the return of Jesus.  Some say he has returned already while others are expecting his second coming.
The Persian religion was founded by (Ethiopian-Chaldean) invaders who ruled them from about 4000 BCE. Although their religion was not as profound and comprehensive as its mother source, the Mystery System of Egypt, it was rooted in the mysteries too.  Zoroaster (525 BCE) refined it into Zoroastrianism.  Holy day Monday.  Text: Avesta Gathas.  God: Ahura Mazda.  Rallying figure, Zoroaster.  Hinduism 3200 BCE, founders were Ethiopians known in India today as the Dravidians.  Holy day, Thursday.  Text: Vedas. Judaism 1230 BCE, founders: Abraham (African from Ur/Canaan) the Patriarch, and Moses (Nubian Egyptian) the law giver. Supreme source:  En-Sof.  Rallying figure, Moses. Text Tora/Talmud. Holy day, Saturday.
Buddhism’s founder Buddha, born (563 BCE) a Dravidian (or Black.) Holy day, Thursday.  God’s name, Varuna.  Ralling figure, Gautama the Buddha. Confucianism’s founder, Master K’ung or K’ung-fu-tzu (Latinized as Confucius.)  He was Black and was born around 551 BCE. Holy day, Wednesday. God: Tien.  Text: Mencius Analects.  Shintoism 6th century BCE, founder, autochthon the Negroid.  Holy day, Monday. Text, Kojiki/Nihonji.  God: Tanka Kami.  Rallying figure, Shinto. Taoism 6th century. Founder, Lao-tze, the wise one, born 604 BCE. Holy day, Tuesday.  Text: Tao-te-Ching.  God: Tao.  Rallying figure, Lao-tze.  Holy day, Saturday.
Jainism founded 6th century BCE by Vardhamana with the title of Mahavira (the great hero.)  God: Brahma.  .Holy day, Thursday.   Text: Angas/Agama.  God: Jiva.  Christianity’s founders, many, including Paul of Tarsus, Augustine of Hippo, consolidated by Emperor Constantine 325 CE.  Holy day, Sunday. Text: Bible.  Rallying figure, Jesus Christ (adapted from African Hero myth, 4425 years older than the Christian copy Jesus), birthday of Jesus adapted from (Osiris’) 25th December date; pilgrimage to Jerusalem (copied Osiris’ pilgrimage to Abydos, begun 4425 years earlier and lasted until Emperor Constantine turned African Virgin Birth myth to Jesus reality in 325 CE). Until then, Constantine observed the African Pagans’ yearly pilgrimage, as the head of Pagan Rome. . Islam 622 CE, a Kushite (African) religion, 1000 years old before birth of Muhammad and refined by Muhammad the prophet whose birthday was 570 CE. His birthday is celebrated yearly; there is also yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, which was already being observed from 1000 years earlier.  Holy day, Friday.  God: Allah.  Text: Koran.
Sikhism.  Founder Guru Nanak (1469-1538) 15th cent. CE. Holy day, Monday. Text: Guru Grauth Sahib.  God: Timeless one. Rallying figure, Nanak. Mhuri ye Kutanga (Myk.) Founder, several African religious icons. Osirianism married with modern science to launch mankind’s ultimate spirituality, 2009 CE. Leader, the Khu Mkuu, the Ameer spiritual.   Text: Myk.   Holy day, Sunday. Supreme Source: Tu-SoS.
Osirian Trinity: Ausar, Auset and Heru (father, mother and son) represented with two fish facing opposite directions.  The pyramid is the House of Heru (Horus.)  Two weeping eyes in the pyramid represent the eyes of Horus, the supreme one, the child and master of nature, in his house. Judaism’s Trinity replaces Osiris, Isis and Horus with Jehovah, Shekina and Messiah (father, mother and child.)  Buddhists’ Trinity, two fish facing same direction, two eyes of Buddha in image facing three directions.  Jainism’s Trinity symbol: eyes in pyramid; Krishna as a child of nature  Christianity’s Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Ghost represented with eye of Jehovah.  Jesus, like Horus, is child and master of nature.
Egyptians’ worshipped cross was Heru’s Ankh, looking like Ghana’s fertility doll.  Christians adopted the cross symbol but created over 40 kinds of crosses, confusing followers about which one Christ died on.   Egyptian priests offered bread and wine at Osirian worship rituals.  Christians offer bread and wine at their Lord’s Supper.
Egyptian Serpent Goddess Merestseger is the guardian of the Valley of the kings. In Asiatic religions: the goddess holds two snakes she tamed. Indian androgynous divinity of the Krishna sect holds two snakes and the Ankh.  Christianity’s Eve receives an apple from the snake.  The serpent was regarded by Egyptian leaders as a sacred, creepy, crawly, wise reptile and an emblem of sovereignty and was embossed on the front of headdresses.  Christians turned the serpent into the symbol of Satan to tempt Eve.  Genesis chapter 3, claims that it became a creepy reptile as punishment for deceiving Adam and Eve.
Egyptian Virgin Mother was Auset; the Holy Ghost Ausar; and the Virgin Birth Son, Heru.  Goddess Auset (Isis) with her only son Horus, flee to Egyptian swamps to save him from Set, his Uncle and King of Egypt. Krishna’s Goddess Yashoda, a virgin, flees with her son, Krishna to save him from a tyrant ruler.  Christian’s Virgin Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt to save Jesus from King Herod. 
Egyptian Deity, Djehns the Sayer, the Logos (word) tells Virgin Auset that she will give birth to a son, the righteous divine hair namely, Heru. In Christianity, an Angel announces to Virgin Mary:  “You will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son.”
Egyptian symbol of the Supreme spirit (Heru) is the flying wings spread out.  Rosicrucians use the symbol.  Christians use the Dove, an ancient Egyptian symbol and the Greek Phoenix, as the symbol of the Holy Spirit. Osirian Goddess Maat (with wings) handles the orderliness of the world.  Christian Angels are Deities’ messengers, with wings like those of Maat.  There are nine ranks (as in the Mystery System) of choirs of Anglels: Seraphim, Cherubim, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Dominions, Thrones, Archangels and Angels. 
The symbol of the Anointing of Osiris by an Egyptian priest is Osiris as a female figure sitting, being anointed by a male priest standing before him, and pointing to the head of Osiris.  Christians’ Jesus is being baptized or initiated by John the Baptist. Jesus is kneeling while John stands pointing hand to the head of Jesus.
Osiris rises from his tomb after his massacre by his brother, Set.  Osiris comes out of his tomb, with four Gods bellow the tomb holding him up.  Christian Resurrection:  Jesus too rises from the Sepulcher.
Osirian’s most powerful creature symbol is the sefer a.k.a griffin.  In Asiatic religions, the supreme power creatures’ symbol, especially that of the Saviour, is the griffin.   
Egyptians’ Lucky Girdle.  Egyptians believed that the cowry shell had protective powers because it resembles the female sexual organ.  It was considered effective as a fertility charm to safeguard pregnancy, when worn low down on a woman’s body.  Sections of the Girdle had divider beads dropping and representing (a) Heh, god of millions of years, symbolizing long life (b) side locks of youth for vigour (c) fish amulets to prevent drowning.  Asiatic religions use amulets and charms as (holy) praying objects.  Indian religious charm, Tefillin–tefillin, contains passages from the Toran and are worn while praying.  Islam uses the beads.  Christians pray with rosary and also have the prayer wheel.
Egyptian saying:  Amun (God) is One without a second.  His unity is Absolute.  Beloved one or love itself God. God is love.  In Christianity, Jesus answered: O Lord our God is one Lord.  1 John 4:8 8.  He that loveth not knoweth not God: for God is love.  Mathew 6:6; Mark 12; Paul 1 and John 4:8.
Egyptian “Ab” heart represents Osiris.  A person with pure light heart is Osiris himself.  He is as light as feather.  Every person’s heart is weighed on Goddess Maat’s feather scale.  To balance on it, is to be Osiris pure and sinless.  It is Osiris’ conquering power over all.  Christians’ Sacred Heart shows sacred heart of Jesus within a stylized crucifix.  It combines a flaming heart, surrounded by a crown of thorns and other Christian imagery.  Buddha’s Foot print is his overall supremacy.   It carries among other signs, the Swastika.  Hindu’s God’s emblem of well-being, is the 8-fold path wheel of enlightenment.  In Islam, Allah’s hand, or the hand of Fatima, Muhammad’s daughter, displaying five fingers, represents the 5 supreme pillars in Islam.
Timeless Quotes:
 “God’ was asleep for the nearly 100,000 years of human existence as Homo sapiens, and over 10,000 years of African religious domination of the world, until the Romans conquered Africa some 2000 years ago in 49 BCE.  With White ascent in world’s politics for the first time, ‘God’ suddenly woke up from his deep slumber and sent his only begotten son (a White child, of course) to redeem the world.  Religion is racial politics for power and world domination, and not to be outdone, Asians countered the Caucasians with Buddha, and the Arabs followed suit with Muhammad.”  Naiwu Osahon in ‘My mission for my race.’
“The African was the first to discover iron but had built no cannon, because he had not had serious need for one.  The secret of gunpowder was known only to the African priests who used it solely for religious purposes at rites such as the Mysteries of Osiris.  The African was at peace with himself and in no hurry to conquer the world when African invasion by aliens began to turn into an avalanche.  From that technical standpoint mainly, Africa became quite vulnerable.”  Naiwu Osahon in Slavery Holocaust.

Diop in African origin of civilization tells us that Africa “became tempting, irresistible prey for the West, provided with firearms and far-ranging navies.”   O.A. Ladimeji in (Nationalism, Alienation and the Crises of Ideology) makes the point more directly:  “Our conquest was made possible, not by the means of production, but by the means of destruction, the technology of murder.

“Even now, they keep the world in check with their intimidating stockpile of nuclear weapons.  Their children play roulette with it but they do not want Iran, North Korea, not to talk of Africa to challenge them, let alone to acquire the arsenal to defend themselves against their (the West’s) constant harassment and unending exploitation and suppression.”  Naiwu Osahon in The end of knowledge.

NAIWU OSAHON Hon. Khu Mkuu (Leader) World Pan-African Movement); Ameer Spiritual (Spiritual Prince) of the African race; MSc. (Salford); Dip.M.S; G.I.P.M; Dip.I.A (Liv.); D. Inst. M; G. Inst. M; G.I.W.M; A.M.N.I.M. Poet, Author of the magnum opus: ‘The end of knowledge’.  One of the world’s leading authors of children’s books; Awarded; key to the city of Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Honourary Councilmanship, Memphis City Council; Honourary Citizenship, County of Shelby; Honourary Commissionership, County of Shelby, Tennessee; and a silver shield trophy by Morehouse College, USA, for activities to unite and uplift the  African race.

Naiwu Osahon, renowned author, philosopher of science, mystique, leader of the world Pan-African Movement.