Ijabla Raymond BISHOP OYEDEPO VOWS TO EXTERMINATE BOKO HARAM For those who may not know, this is Bishop David Oyedepo, Africa’s richest pastor. His wealth is estimated at $150 million. He owns four private jets including a Gulfstream V jet, which he acquired for US$30 million in 2011. There is no obvious source of his wealth other than church offering and donations. His followership is in the millions. For the majority of these people, nothing that the bishop ever says or does is wrong. This includes slapping a hapless young woman who described herself as a “witch for Jesus” during one of his crowded church services. The video is on YouTube for those who might be interested. Bishop Oyedepo wields enormous influence on the lives of millions of people. What he says determines how some people live their lives. So, when I criticize these pastors, it is because I can see how their sermons are impacting negatively on the way our people reason and conduct themselves. They become rich at the expense of their followers to whom they sell false hope. They promote magical wishful thinking. Watch the first 10 mins of this video and make what you will of it. But you may wish to consider the following: 1). The bishop asserts that GOD has given him the mandate to conquer all the evil spirits in Africa, including Boko Haram (BH). The bishop knows where to find BH – why doesn’t he just fly there instead of the empty boasts he displays. 2). His sermons on witchcraft continue to reinforce this unproductive magical thinking. He has slapped a youngster for the imaginary offence of witchcraft amidst cheers from his congregation. I mean this is 2014!! He has not faced any prosecution for this assault. How many times have we witnessed innocent people lynched to death on our streets because someone accused them of being witches? This type of sermon is dangerous especially in a society like ours that is deeply superstitious. 3. He advocates that his followers physically attack and kill people suspected to be Boko Haram members. His words: “if you find anyone that looks them kill him and spill his blood on the ground.” This is a clear advocacy for extrajudicial murder. How does this make him different from BH insurgents? Anyway, this is Nigeria - no one can touch the bishop. Or reprimand him. 4). Whilst he fleeces his congregation, he leaves them believing their misfortunes are caused by their enemies (who could be members of their household or their friends), witches and evil spirits; and that the way to overcome these is by fasting more, praying more and making more donations. This is false hope. But because the Bishop and his ilk have taken control of their critical reasoning faculty, their followers cannot see these obvious facts even when they stare them in the face. https://youtube/watch?v=FAgGkWs3GBs
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 19:42:06 +0000
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