(Written by Chinemerem Uche)
The lack of understanding of the natural processes of nature that has to do with disasters, decay, healing favourable and unfavourable circumstances drives some people into extreme religiousity. As a result we take to blaming unseen forces and enemies and resort to prayers and absurd practices all in the name of fighting forces that bring hunger, poverty disease and degradation. God had already intervened for mankind by giving us brains with capacity to think and “subdue” our circumstances. Those we cannot, He has still given us capacity to contain them. Instead of making use of this capacity, Nigerians unfortunately flock to churches and prayer ministries for miracles.
As we flock to churches, in search of solution, and as the number swells and the tokens given as offering increases, some religious leaders, who too are fighting with poverty, hunger, degradation and disease, come to the realisation that the crowd can be made to keep coming so that the cash flow will not wane.
Over the course of time, the more brazen and radicalised independent or private churches device radical means of attracting large membership. It is very easy to make people believe that someone is behind their problem, an enemy and this enemy must be fought with through very boisterous prayers that requires a lot of jesticulations, shouting and certain spiritual acts. (Check out for instance, the NSPPD Prayers on YouTube, it reflects the frustration Nigerians face and the need to conquer these fears and enemies with passionate forceful prayers. Sometimes you wonder if God is so deaf and dumb, restricted by Satan and needs to be awakened to fight our battles for us).
Over time, the mainline churches like Anglican and Roman Catholic, Presbyterians and Methodists in nigeria, began to lose membership to the new age churches that seemed to have provided solutions to the problems of the common man. This membership loss came with financial loss that threatened her operations. These mainline churches were like the conscience of the nation and preached righteousness, temperance and self control, integrity and responsible citizenship. It preached of eternal life to attain and the need to live a blameless life in order to avoid the displeasure or wrath of God. Where the mainline churches fought fetish practices, it was because it was dehumanising and exploitative and not in congruence with science, technology and medicine.
Having seen how quickly she was losing membership, and failing to take charge of the internal wrangling that dotted the genuine evangelical movements like EFAC and Charismatic movements, she switched from biblical orthodoxy to tolerate the practices of the new age movements. Faith clinics took over the Friday classes of the Anglican Church and her Bible study program. These former programs were programs aimed at transforming the inner man into the image of Christ. The Faith clinics were however maned by untrained but passionate “lay” men and women who later discovered the cash flow in it and turned themselves into principalities and powers that the priests and even the bishops are afraid to censor or control. When the clergy saw the “opportunities” in faith clinic, empowered with the doctrine of being officially annionted and controlling the altar of power, they began to artfully and steadily take over or form their own faith clinics.
Today, from what can be seen in igbo Anglican missions there are some Faith clinics led by very powerful laymen and priests in the mainline churches that if they cough or the priest or bishop dares them, the diocese will shake. Go to Nnewi, Owerri, Onitsha and Aba, you will see a lot of principalities and powers who control people through faith clinics. The sick, the mentally unstable and unemployed and neglected throng to these programs and are made to drink “blessed water” in place of medical care the failed Government of Nigeria could not offer or made to sow seed to escape the poverty caused by official corruption in Nigeria.
Watch videos of Faith clinics in some Anglican churches in Nigeria, you would notice that people are encouraged to sow seed or make an offering to ‘tap into’ or get same favour somebody who by coming to the Faith clinic has encountered. This was not so in the Anglican Church in Nigeria. She preaches that faith without works is dead! (Blame our theiving, serving politicians though).
For the Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria, she artfully curtailed the radical Charismatic movement by allowing her priests to run and independently control the “adoration” programs. The large Catholic faithfuls who have a strong faith and belief in their priests and almost blindly worship them despite known human frailties, thronged to these adoration grounds and bolstered the income of the priests to a tremendous degree. The priests became very powerful and feared by the powerful bishops. Evidences of this is seen in the activities of Fathers Ede, Mbaka, and one oku Nerere. At these grounds anointing oils, holy water, scapula and other relics take over the medical care that God gave us and should have been provided by the government. Every adverse situation of man is attributed to an unseen enemy. The present outcome of this is that almost every so called fire brand Christian of Nigeria believes that there is an enemy behind their problem and needs to be fought with all spiritual powers, therefore the psyche of these people has been deeply militarised. Marvel you not therefore that almost everyone is aggressive.
Despite these so called revivals as some call the Faith clinic and adoration programs, many Christians still actively participate in corrupt practices, falsification of figures and age, examination malpractice, land racketeering, bribery, adulteration of food and drug products, using pornography and obscene acts to create content on social media. Part of The fruitful results of these corrupt and sinful ventures are brought to the church as testimonies, donations, offerings and seed and so the rat race goes on!
My name is Chinemerem Uche, Facebook has restricted my account because some people here do not like the fact that I say and write these things.
