Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Religiosity

Religiosity is the art of being excessively, obtrusively or sentimentally religious (www.merriam-Webster.com/dictionary)I decided to do this post because I was reading some posts on Linda Ikeji's blog and I came across this post titled:"Bishop Oyedepo acquires 4.5 billion Naira jet, builds private hanger in MMIA." this was an article she had culled from Encomium magazine and her only addition was "4 private jets, I have no words, moving on to the next blog" When I read the post, to be honest, I had mixed reactions to it. Obviously, this type of post will elicit a myriad of reactions, some will like it and some won't. So I went on to read the comments on the post and my oh my, they are a must read. I can't reproduce them but most of them were a vicious attack on the blogger herself. Some people attributed her single status to the fact that she 'insults' men of God, some invited those that defended her to go and drink acid, some hinted that the blogger won't live long if she continues in this manner and so on. Others accused the blogger and those who felt the purchase was extravagant, of envy. Saying it is not their money and going on to pray for their own riches that will be adequate to purchase their own private jet. Wow!

I am a Christian. I love God and I honor those that do his work here on earth. Now, I don't really care how much was spent on a jet and this blog is not about that either. What this blog is about is the depth and understanding of Christianity in this country. I am a liberal mind and a Lawyer and as such I encourage and enjoy discourse and for me, no subject is taboo. I have my views. I do not expect everybody to agree with my views but I will give cogent reasons why my views should at least be taken on board. Blind followership at whatever cost and for whatever reason, is not my thing. When I read that post and read how it was perceived, I shook my head at the state of Christianity in this country.

The post got me thinking; who are we REALLY serving? Is it God or is it the men of God? I only ask this question because I feel a lot of people have gotten it twisted. We make our suplications to God through Jesus Christ our intercessor. Period. This is all I know, this is all I need to know. People have replaced Jesus with Pastor Lagbaja and Reverend Tamedu! 'Jesus' is just said in their prayers as a mere formality. It is no longer what the bible says but "my pastor said" Pastors have been placed on such a high pedestal that people often forget that they are men that God has anointed. Men! As men, a fall is always possible. The bible tells us to look to God who is the author and finisher of our faith. But people don't hold or take to this. They look to their pastors and if things go wrong ie when the pastor's flesh subdues his spirit man and he falls, they get disenfranchised, stop believing in God and start bad mouthing God and the church, forgetting that they are the architects of their own disappointment because they refused to acknowledge the tenets of the bible which is clearly written in black and white. Saul was a man anointed by God to be a leader and when his own self aggrandizement pulled him away from God, the spirit of God left him. Anyone can be used by God if we allow ourselves be used. Me, you, our pastors, we are all tools in the hands of the Lord and if we do not serve our purpose, we will be replaced.

When I hear some people speak, I become terribly afraid. I'm not trying to judge anybody but I just wonder what bible they've been reading that has made them this obtuse. You cannot question men of God? Where is that written in the bible? Jesus was a revolutionary and he questioned the establishment that had existed years and years before he was made man. Before he came, the Pharisees were the big cheeses of his day but he challenged their beliefs and teachings and that, my friends, is why we are even practicing Christianity today. But we are so obsessed with substituting God's representatives here on earth with God that we do not even question anything they do that appears odd. Instead, we come up excuses, denials, abuse and threats if anything untoward about them is revealed. Take case in point, Pastor Odulele, a London pastor who pleaded guilty to sexually molesting two teenage boys and was sentenced to 14 months imprisonment by the Woolwich Crown Court(http://www.compassnewspaper.com/index.php?Itemid=600&catid=308:headlines&id=1681:-outrage-over-nigerian-gay-pastor-in-uk&option=com_content&view=article)I read a comment about this that was alluding to the fact that he committed the crime years back so he should not be punished. Two things, one, there were members of his church who came out to say they were molested by him and some have refused to speak out (hmmm.....I wonder why) and two, sexual offenses are offenses that the statute of limitations applies to. What this means is that they become time barred after a while. As such, if the offense is not brought before a court of competent jurisdiction within a stipulated number of years, it becomes time barred and it cannot be prosecuted again. This leads me to believe that this matter was not as old as that commentator would have us believe. I was disgusted by that comment because the commentator's sympathy was not for the victims but for the pastor and ONLY because he was a pastor. If it had been any Ade,Bala and Uche that was accused of sexually molesting kids, I'm sure that would not be her view. From her comment, it was obvious that she was horrified that they were not cutting him any kind of slack and disregarding his pastoral office by jailing him. Well, tough cookie! Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.
I also heard of a pastor in London who beat up a girl in the church office because she accused him of sexually molesting her. My friend's cousin was the lawyer handling the matter. She had reported the pastor to a senior pastor who called her in for a meeting with himself, the accused pastor and some deacons in the church and the accused pastor got upset and beat her up in the presence of everybody. In a room filled with christians would you believe that none of them agreed to testify to what had happened in court? Just to shield their own and to avoid reproach, they closed ranks and refused to speak against evil. This is the modern day version of buying and selling in the temple of the Almighty God. People doing evil and people just condoning evil in order to keep up appearances.
These are just examples of men of God that have behaved like men because they are men. May the Lord have mercy on us all and help us to walk according to His wishes. Amen.


The second point this post is addressing is the militancy of Nigerian Christianity. When I read Linda's blog, I was appalled at the level of venom that people who called themselves Christians were spewing forth. Asking someone to go and drink acid is very Christian.....NOT! You call yourselves christians and there's really no evidence of that in how you behave. The person they were criticizing behaved in a more Christ-like manner than them. She only responded to one comment and there were about 109 comments on that post. What occurred to me when I was reading that post was that Christianity in Nigeria is not as it should be. It is practiced almost like belonging to some kind of juju cult with a military 'don't ask, don't tell' twist to the whole thing.
Christianity is a get rich quick scheme to most people, ie let me serve God and he will open up the stores of heaven and bless me or and he will provide all my needs according to his riches in glory (they have bible verses to prove every point) Christianity is a protection talisman to some people. As nollywood movies show us, when "they" are chasing you from your village, run to the church because the name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous run to it and they are saved! Hallelujah! Above all, we all want to make heaven and this is the only reason why most of us are Christians.
When you have all these motives for being a Christian, I'm sorry to say, you will never be the Christian you need to be and God needs you to be. If you are doing something for all the wrong reasons, even if you are trying to achieve a greater good, you will get frustrated with whatever it is you are doing. This is why we see some people that claim they are Christians and are frankly, terrible people in life. These are the people that gossip, that are hypocrites, that are stingy, that will put you down, that will cut you off in traffic and refuse to give up the road for you to come through and they will have ironic stickers like "givers never lack" on their cars. Puhlease!
Christianity is about developing a relationship with God. A re-la-ti-on-sh-ip people. It is like when you meet a man, you get to know them and they may propose to you after a while. You don't meet a man and insist on being proposed to the first day you meet. That is exactly what a relationship with God is like; knowing and understanding his love for you and EVERY OTHER THING will be added unto you. God is not Santa claus and he really doesn't owe us anything because he has given us the ultimate gift, his son. So watch it when you pester or blame God, instead ask yourself where you are in your relationship with him.

These Christians with attitude problems give the rest of us a bad name. In the name of defending Bishop Oyedepo, they started to exhibit some "stewpid" behaviors; cursing,insulting, casting aspersions on People's characters etc. Forgetting that even Jesus,when he was being crucified prayed for forgiveness for those that killed him. He didn't tell them to go fuck themselves or go and drink acid. Not one of them behaved in a Christlike or rational manner. I'm sure the Bishop will be appalled by your behaviors. Shame on you.

Final thots: There is a reason men of God are called men of God and that is because they are NOT God. Religiosity is taking over serving God. The two things are completely different and one has no place in our lives. Nigerian Christianity is shrouded in so much hypocrisy, it is sickening. Worship God in spirit and in truth instead of standing on ceremony and observing all these unnecessary and irrelevant protocols that mainly exists to soothe men's egos instead of to glorify God. That is not to say disrespect those in authority. Honor and respect them but KNOW that they are not God. I would like to add that as christians, it is expedient to act like Christians and so we should curb behaviors that are unbecoming for Christians. This is as much for me as it is for everyone. I have heard people say of some so called Christians "well if he's a Christian, I don't want anything to do with Christianity" we are meant to bring people to God and not repel them from God. Gosh! I would love to hear "constructive" comments on this post but unlike Linda Ikeji and very much like Jenifa, mo mo esi oro o (lol),ie. don't act the fool on my blog with any close-minded cursing, tantrums or carrying on.


5 comments:

  1. Jor o!!!I love that disclaimer of mo mo esi oro!
    I rarely leave comments on Linda's blog but i read the ones left. It usually doesnt surprise me much...cos most Nigerians have been known to act that way.
    However, I dont really blame them, exposure confers lots of knowledge on people and that, is one thing most Nigerians do not have.

    HoneyDame

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  2. This is a terribly old matter that has plagued our nation for far too long.

    As for the four jets and hangar, I have no idea why he (or the church) has them. I don't know if God asked him to get them and keep them for a purpose. Noah was asked to build an ark on dry land and he was laughed at. Hosea was asked to marry and have children with a prostitute... I have no idea if God asked him to buy these jets or not. I was not there when God spoke to him about the jets, or if He actually did.
    I am also reminded of a great king, Israel's fist king. When God left him, he was still king for many years to come! Didn't mean his still was God's anointed!

    So about the jet/hangar matter, I have a HUUUUGE "I don't know" bubble attached to my head.

    One thing that hurts me so bad is the way we handle our Christianity in Nigeria. It's a ticket to riches and safety, it's a gate pass to
    the Pearly Gates. It's a flag that states how powerful we are against principalities and powers.

    We have all forgotten that being a Christian simply means being like that dude from Galilee who was very simple yet decent, who loved everyone yet hated sin, who calmed the distressed yet rebuked the pompous. His commands were clearly stated in the Bible, plain as day!

    If there is one man I say is a man of God today, it'll be Billy Graham. His life is an example of a man who loves and wants to serve God. His sermons scare the hell out of me; I heard one from the '60s and it was so timely! I was glued to the TV. The only things that reminded me that it was an old broadcast were the audience's sense of style and the recording quality.

    This man lived a really simple life and yet met with America's presidents from Truman ('50) to Obama! That's what the Bible means when it says you will "sit with kings".

    I'm sick and tired of the finances, kill my enemies, back to sender, promotion, enlarge my territory, I am blessed prayers. That's all we pray for in churches now, that's all the pastors preach about now.

    What happened to the Gospel of Jesus? What happened to the final words of Jesus? All he kept talking about before He died and after His resurrection was LOVE LOVE LOVE! We don't talk about that anymore. What happened to the good ol' Christianity? The simple and quiet prayers? The hymns? The fellowships? The air of contentment with little?

    I need to stop, this has become a blog instead of a comment,... sorry Cherry :P

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  3. You're alright Tay-Tay. It is always good to have People's takes on the issues regardless of how blog like they end up looking. Lol. I completely agree with you, HoneyDame,

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  4. I definitely co-sign with you on everything!!! :)
    I hate when people treat their pastores like demagogues or demi-gods. it's ridiculous, and the pastors dont even discourage it. Apostles like paul in the bible would always say how they shouldnt revere him, but rather they should worship God. John the baptist would always say how all praise and adoration should be reserved for Jesus. Back home, it seems like the masses(especially the uneducated ones) prctically worship their pastors...it's sad.
    And to think of all the obscenities they spew forth to defend their pastors,..makes me wonder what religion they stand for.

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  5. Nigerians and their pastors *smh*. Welcome to the fight to retrain minds that are being plundered by sweet-talking, gold-digging shepherds(Well some of them). I dont know where some Christians leave their rationality when they defend their pastors so vigorously. I have blogged, argued many a times on FB, IRL about the madness. I wont give up anyway. Hope you wont too.
    Thanks for coming by to comment on my blog. I'll be back :)

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