PASTORS ARE THIEVES AND ROBBERS

THE bus was going from Lagos to Benin and it was waylaid by highway robbers. They got on the bus brandishing automatic weapons. “This is a stick up,” declared the leader of the gang in a menacing tone designed for maximum effect. “Is there anybody here who has been paying his tithes? If you have been paying your tithes raise your hand.”
A few passengers raised their hands sheepishly. He told those who did to move to one side. Then he declared: “Those of you who have not been paying your tithes are thieves and robbers. You have been robbing God. Therefore, we are going to rob you.” The robbers then carted away the money and other valuables of those passengers who had not been paying their tithes.
Forgers of lies
You might not have heard this story before. But, in all probability, you might have heard a similar version of it. Different versions are common in the churches. Those who tell it insist it really happened. But every time you hear such stories know for a fact they are fiction. They are no more than the figments of the imagination of money-grubbing pastors.
You need to know that we pastors specialise in telling lies in order to “encourage” people to come to our church, stay in our church, and give us more and more money. That is why, as in the “parable” above, we even go as far as to use a thief to preach our own gospel. But only a thief would employ a thief to teach the way of righteousness.
Jesus warns believers to be wary of thieves and robbers. He says: “I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.” (John 10:7-8). Who precisely are the thieves and robbers of whom Jesus speaks? Is he talking about men who mug us in the streets? Is he talking about highway robbers who snatch our cars? Is he talking about those fraudulent “yahoo thieves” who rob us blind with a keystroke of the computer on the internet? Or is he talking about those who break into our houses in the dead of night?
Listen and understand. The thieves and robbers that are of primary concern to Jesus are the pastors of our churches. Jesus’ message is that pastors and other so-called “men of God” are thieves and robbers. According to him, we pastors have turned our churches into dens of thieves.
Jesus says: “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” (Mark 11:17).
Dismissed
In the Old Testament, when God speaks of pastors, it is in condemnation. He declares: “Woe to the pastors who feed themselves instead of their flocks. Shouldn’t pastors feed the sheep? You eat the best food and wear the finest clothes, but you let your flocks starve.” (Ezekiel 34:2-3).
How does God intend to remedy this situation? Solomon says we should be wary of a situation where God is said to lead his people through more than ONE PASTOR: “The words of the wise are like prodding goads, and firmly fixed in the mind like nails are the collected sayings which are given as proceeding from ONE PASTOR. But about going further than the words given by ONE PASTOR, my son, be warned.” (Ecclesiastes 12:11-12).
Accordingly, God proclaims the summary dismissal of all pastors to be replaced by one solitary true and faithful Pastor. He says: “I will establish ONE PASTOR over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their pastor.
And I, the LORD, will be their God.” (Ezekiel 34:23-24). He repeats this again: “David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have ONE PASTOR.” (Ezekiel 37:24).
That one true pastor is none other than Jesus. Jesus says: “I am the good pastor; and I know my sheep, and am known by my own. As the Father knows me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock and ONE PASTOR.” (John 10:14-16).
This means those of us still parading ourselves as pastors today are, without exception, impostors and frauds. There is only ONE PASTOR in the church of God and it is Jesus.
David says men gave gifts to the Lord: “When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you RECEIVED gifts from men. (Psalm 68:18). But Paul changes this to say men received gifts from the Lord: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and GAVE gifts to men.’”
(Ephesians 4:8). He then uses this deliberate distortion as the basis for creating the unauthorized post of pastors in churches. (Ephesians 4:11). Jesus says: “He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” (John 10:1).
Evangelical  rogues
A thief broke into a man’s house and held him at gunpoint. After collecting as much of his valuables as he could, he asked the house-owner a question on his departure: “Have you given your life to Christ?” The miserable house-owner replied in the negative.
“I don’t believe in God,” he said. The armed robber became concerned about the man’s salvation. So he sat back down and decided to have an extensive chat with him. For the next one hour, he preached to him as persuasively as he could, “the gospel of salvation.” Then he left with the man’s belongings.
Do you think the house-owner became a Christian? If he did, what kind of Christian do you suppose he became? Think this through with me. What kind of righteousness can one expect to learn from a thief? Thus, Hosea says: “The priests are like a gang of robbers who wait in ambush for a man.
Even on the road to the holy place at Shechem they commit murder. And they do all this evil deliberately!” (Hosea 6:9). Today, there are even gangs of Catholic priests raping young boys.
The pastor was fed up. He had watched with dismay the brazen manner in which the senior area-pastor converted church funds to his personal use. Finally, he confronted him and told him, in no uncertain terms, that he would no longer countersign any cheques with him.
The area-pastor responded in a most unusual manner. He scheduled a meeting of all pastors and church-workers under him. Then he pointedly challenged the pastor to repeat publicly what he had dared to say to him in private.
However, the junior pastor refused to be intimidated. In the presence of everyone, he detailed chapter-and-verse the area-pastor’s expropriation of church funds. He revealed, in particular, his diversion of $30,000 to his daughter’s wedding in the United States. As a result, he insisted again, he would no longer countersign any cheques with him.
The other church-members present were aghast. “What’s going on?” they demanded. “What kind of church is this?” The area pastor was completely taken off-guard. This was not what he intended. He quickly decided on a change of strategy. He begged the people at the meeting to pray for him. “I am only a man,” he pleaded.
Isaiah says: “They are as greedy as dogs, never satisfied; they are stupid pastors who only look after their own interest, each trying to get as much as he can for himself from every possible source.” (Isaiah 56:11).

By Femi Aribisala

RELIGION, WOMEN AND MALE EGO

Ordinarily, men take certain actions that defy reason and logic; but the man who argues that he has God on his side while embarking on the weirdest of actions is the man to watch. Yesterday, the BBC carried a piece of news that caused me considerable discomfort- Bello Masaba from Bida in Niger State who is already “married” to some eighty-something wives is planning to take the count to a hundred. His argument remains that Allah told him in a dream to do so.

Again, ordinarily I would dismiss this Imam as a raving lunatic, but when a man clings on to serious claims relating to a Divine plot, I can’t help but get worried. According to Mr. Masaba, “a man with 10 wives would collapse and die, but my own power is given by Allah”-really? As I always make clear, it would be wrong and impertinent of me to doubt any man’s claims to having an unfettered access to God’s court in his quest for salvation; however I will make haste to delve into the morality of such claims as it affects the wider society of our primate. I view Masaba’s claims as a sinful attempt to stretch the cords of hyperbole a bit too far; it is a clear testimony that men with the connivance of religion still treat women as chattels. This is immoral.

The male ego to me remains one of the most striking proofs that religion is man-made. Across all religions of the world, we see coy machinations introduced by deluded men to keep women perpetually quartered as things to be possessed and romped with glee. I am yet to see any religion that treats women as being in the same pedestal as men; in Christianity, there is still that debate especially amongst the traditional ones [Catholic and Anglican] on the roles of women. Islam stands out as the religion that amongst other unsound practices treats women as specie to be partially seen and not heard at all. This explains why women of the Islamic faith are mandated to cover up always not minding the vicious dictates of the weather, this is why countries like Saudi Arabia forbids women from driving!

The male ego remains a part of us we males would rather not ditch despite our achievements in many fields of human endeavors. Our African society uses many obnoxious ploys to continue the practice of enslaving women and denying them that right to an egalitarian existence. So many traditional practices formulated by our stone-age ancestors are still being used today by modern day Nigerians to relegate women to the background. I may find it in my heart to pardon some of the excesses of our traditional practices by arguing that they remain a dying part of our dark and primitive past, but what do you say about the institutionalized inferior status which our modern day religions have assigned to our women? As primates, we are in an eternal pursuit of excellence even though our achievements remains marred by time-constraints; it makes one sad that the foreign religions calling the shots in Nigeria remain culprits in the sin of enslaving women.

It is on this note that I find it somewhat comical that the Muslim clerics that are engaging Bello Masaba only disagrees with him on the number of women a man can keep as wives-Masaba is claiming that Islam does not make it a “sin” to marry more than four wives whereas the clerics are pointing out that it was only Prophet Mohammed that had the right to marry more than four wives. Is this not a case of men being allowed to decide on how best to demonstrate their randy nature while cherishing their primitive acquisition tendency? Why does any sane man need more than one wife if not immotarlize that “variety is the spice of life” saying? To take the case of the mundane nature of religion a step further, we observe with some tinge of shame that even the Christian Bible treats women with scorn- it stipulates when a man can divorce his wife but is conveniently silent on when a woman can divorce her husband. Religion is really the handiwork of some smart men at work. There must be something in we males that pushes us to go the extra mile to amass as much property as possible [especially women] while being stern in matters that would someday call us to give an account of our actions [like evading the EFCC].

The BBC news item on Bello Masaba ended on a comical note-some of the wives of that randy old hand took turns to debunk those suggestions that there could be some strong dose of rancor amongst them. Without any trace of shame, they all echoed that Masaba makes use of an unwritten time-table in consorting with them; this keeps mischief at bay while giving each and every one of them a periodic feeling of being consummated. To the glory of men and their tall ego, there are millions of women in the mold of Mr. Masaba’s harem who have been seduced by societal dictates [skillfully designed by men] to accept a life of mediocre existence; needless, to point out that women in Africa and elsewhere appear to be engaged in a deadly game of “self-destruct”.

Summarily, while saluting the monstrous energy and stamina of Mr. Masaba and his ilk, I find it too curious that his God chose to demonstrate some sense of humour in endowing him thus. “Allah gives me the strength…” is a wonderful boast which I am sure many randy men will be wishing to be making in this regard too. Well, women should once again come together in another “Beijing Conference” type and start formulating their own plots too- maybe then, we will start seeing lovely cases of women being able to marry up to four husbands and an occasional burst of a deranged female specie shouting that God enjoined her to marry up to a hundred husbands. Until such a time comes, there will remain randy lunatics like Bello Masaba and similar buffoons armed with some religious creeds and warped ideas rubbishing women and all that they stand for.

 

by John Chikadibie Okafo

MY PEOPLE! MY PEOPLE!! THIS WITCH HUNT MUST STOP

The potentially dangerous activities of a new local church in Cross River-Akwa Ibom states axis of the country should be of concern to all people of conscience in Nigeria and beyond. This church, which habitually starts the themes of its crusade with “My Father! My Father!!...”appears to be on a fast track to causing a new wave of witchcraft related abuse, torture and killings in the region.
 This church is owned and led by a boyish upstart pastor who addresses himself as ‘God’s Prophet’ and as ‘Prophet of signs and wonders’. It is not clear when and how he came about these titles, but like others in the business of penticostalism, these appellations have become the trade mark of this evangelical entrepreneur. From an apartment in Calabar, Cross River State, where it started, the church has grown so rich that it now organizes its meetings in some of the most expensive hotels in the region. But the issue is not whether this ‘My Father Church’ holds its events in cheap or expensive venues but what these programs are all about.
Recently, the prophetic ministry joined the vanguard of witch hunting churches that are fueling witchcraft related abuse in the region.
In what appears to be a clear and targeted attempt to undermine the progress which government and non-governmental agencies have made in the fight against witch hunting in Akwa Ibom, the church organized in March a crusade tagged ‘Uyo Festival of Fire’ at Ibom Hall in Uyo, the state capital.
The theme of the crusade was ‘My Father! My Father!! That Witch Must Die’.
Anyone who knows the Bible could easily notice a connection between the theme of the crusade and the biblical verse-Ex 22:18- which says ‘Suffer not a Witch to live’. What is particularly disturbing is that the church staged the event at a time the state government is frantically battling to address this tragic situation. The crusade was a literal declaration of war against alleged witches and an unequivocal endorsement of witch hunting in the state.
Belief in witchcraft is very strong in the region. Witchcraft accusation is very common and witch hunting often erupts in this part of the country. Belief in witchcraft has caused many people to attack, abuse, torture, or kill their children or parents or grandparents whom they blamed for their misfortune.
In 2008, the government of Akwa Ibom came under international pressure following a documentary on the problem which was broadcast worldwide. The government hastily passed into law a bill that criminalized child witch stigmatization and took some measures to address the problem. Some non-governmental organizations embarked on programs and projects to rescue victims and enlighten the people. In the past two years, significant progress has been made in persuading the local population from engaging in witchcraft related abuses.
At a time the efforts of government and non-governmental organizations appear to be yielding positive results, the Uyo Festival of Fire which literally sanctioned the execution of alleged witches, could re-ignite these horrific abuses, erode the gains that have been made so far and roll back the wheel of progress.
We must note that similar witch hunting crusades and revivals by self-styled prophets, evangelists and apostles in the past decades turned the region into a killing and abusing field.
 Sadly, the government of Akwa Ibom, as in the past, stood by and allowed this campaign of hate and violence to be staged in the state.
Local authorities should as a matter of urgency start monitoring the activities of pastors, prophets, and evangelists in the region and ensure that their so called deliverance sessions, revivals and festivals are not used to incite hatred and violence against innocent citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly, in the name of witchcraft. State governments should not see this as interfering with the freedom of religion of these persons. In fact, freedom of religion does not include inciting hatred and violence against persons in the name of one’s religious belief or inflicting torture, inhuman and degrading treatment on others in the name of religion. Freedom of religion is a human right and should be promoted, protected, defended and guaranteed. But inciting abuses or inflicting harm on people in the name of religion is a crime, and perpetrators should be punished.
For instance the government of Akwa Ibom should not have allowed the organization of the Festival of Fire. Even now the program is over, the authorities could still arrest and prosecute the organizers for inciting hatred and violence or for aiding and abetting witchcraft accusation and child witch stigmatization. Local authorities should ensure that those who engage in witch hunting or those who fuel these savage crimes are made to face the full wrath of the law. Akwa Ibom and Cross River states have a long history of witch hunting. The authorities should be aware of this, and remain vigilant. They should do everything they can to ensure that the wave of witchcraft related violence and abuses that swept through the region in the past decades does not reoccur.
 
In conclusion, I say to the government and people in Akwa Ibom, Cross River and the entire Niger Delta: My People! My People!! This Witch Hunting Must Stop! My People! My People!! Those witch hunters must be arrested and brought to justice without delay.
For the sake of our women, children and elderly persons.

By Leo Igwe