By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

 scruples2006@yahoo.com 

“They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate” Titus 1:16  

As I look around each day and see so many people out there claiming to be born-again, children of God, Christians, Gospel ministers, pastors or bishops, as I observe their lifestyles, and the things they propagate and endorse, the inevitable question I am forced to ask is: where then are the sinners and unbelievers? Indeed, if all these people, whose nearly every conduct and preoccupation constitute grave offence to God are all “Christians,” “born-again,” and “men of God,” then I can confidently bet you that non-Christians and unbelievers no longer exist! The clear demarcation between the two camps may have since collapsed. Everything has been muddled up, and there is confusion everywhere, to the juicy delight of the devils -- although, in the midst of the confusion, those holding on to the genuine thing are not ready to let go! 

Now, the devil has one major objective in this world, namely, to stop multitudes of people from having genuine experience of salvation from sin, living worthy Christian lives in this world like the Apostles did, and making heaven at last. Having forever lost his place in heaven due to pride and rebellion, he is so desperate to get so many people to suffer the eternal torments of hell with him. No matter whatever else he does in this world, he does not lose sight of this singular objective which is very dear to his murky heart. He pursues it with unequalled dedication, resilience and meticulousness, and appears to succeed so marvelously, whenever and wherever he succeeds in making people indifferent, oblivious or doubtful of his activities and definite mission.  

The devil’s savage battles with believers has raged for ages, but, seeing that he has not made much progress with frontal confrontations, he has added a more subtle, but much more insidious strategy. This time, what he has embarked upon is mass-production of counterfeits and parodies. These counterfeits may look every bit like the genuine one, but they are not. Only those with scanty knowledge of, or indifferent to, God’s standards as revealed in the Bible are hoodwinked and entrapped. And many, most unfortunately, are today! 

The major attraction of these counterfeits is that they offer “made-easy” and “modern” Christianity to all and sundry. They do not offer solution to the problem of sin and worldliness. They instead sanction, rationalize or even justify them; they simplify everything and offer limitless freedom, so much so, that even after a night of sexual immorality and sundry sins, one can still enter the Church the next morning, and “speak in tongues”, do “miracles,” and deliver wonderful “sermons”.  

The other day, I stumbled on an interview with a certain Ms. Gloria Doyle, who I understand is a musician or something. The interview was published in Saturday Independent, February 25, 2006. Even on a whore, the dress she was wearing would still be considered extremely indecent. Indeed, if you were working in a reputable company and you tried to download those photographs of Ms. Doyle’s on your system, your network would, no doubt, filter them as nudity, and you could be reprimanded by your employers. But then, here was this lady, in this Jezebelic outfit, claiming to be a “Gospel artist”, and declaring that she used her music to “win (read: damn) souls.” What do these people really understand by the Gospel and “soul-winning”? What do they really take God for? 

Ms. Doyle also claimed in that interview that she is a Gospel minister, spirit-filled, speaks in tongues, lays hands on people, and prays for them in her Church. Then the reporter asked her whether she endorses fornication, that is, pre-marital sex, and she said yes. In their Church, she said, it is not that they endorse promiscuity, but when a boy and girl are in a serious relationship which they believe would most likely to lead to marriage, they can go ahead wallowing in sexual immorality. For her, that is the real meaning of courtship. When the reporter asked her what would happen if the boy dumps the girl after he had had his fun, she replied that life is full of risks! 

The final question Ms. Doyle took from the reporter was this: 

Reporter: “Once in a while you need male attention intimately, how do you handle such?”

Doyle: “I have intimate friends and when the need arises, we will find solution to it” 

So, am I to take it that this one, too, is a “Christian” and “minister of the Gospel,” and whatever she does tomorrow would provide incentive for some people who are totally ignorant of the meaning and practice of Christianity to cast aspersions on the most holy faith?  Ms. Doyle, a divorcee, had told the reporter that the legacy she would want to leave behind is for people to be saying after she had gone: “She was a renowned woman of God.” Indeed, other “women of God” like her abound in the world today, damning the souls of men and women and attracting a smear to the most holy faith. I was totally appalled at the way she was dishing out those hell-guaranteeing blasphemies with amazing authoritativeness. Make no mistake about it: if tomorrow you hear that she is “performing miracles” in one corner of the city, multitudes will throng her services. That is the world we are in today. But God’s Word in 2Timothy 2:19 is clear:  “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that His. And, let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”    

The point I am making is that if you are “born-again” and the experience was not able to kill the appetite for sin in your life, then, you may have got the fake version. You must investigate what you think you have; either you have lost  what you once had, or you never had it in the first place. Something cannot be new and old at the same time. (2Corithians 5:17). Conversion means, changing something from what it was, to something entirely new and different. It is real, and many people have experienced it. If you do not have it, you do not have it, no matter what your posh-speaking pastor may be saying to you to assuage your mind, in order to retain you.  

I have heard some people say: I am a Christian, but I am not born-again. That is a huge contradiction. Just like someone saying: I am a physician, but I did not go to medical school! You are either a Christian or not, no matter the name you bear, and the Church you attend.  In Ezekiel 36:26, God promises to give us a new heart and new spirit, after taking away our old heart. That was exactly what Jesus was telling Nicodemus, a prominent religious leader, in John Chap. 3. Jesus had told him that he must be born-again, if he must inherit the Kingdom of God. The aim is for the person to regain the original nature with which Adam was created (in the image and likeness of God) which he lost when he sinned against God. 

You see, because of this nature (not the sin he committed) that we inherited from Adam, the first man, the natural man is always full of sinful desires, which make him to indulge even in some things he dislikes. Many are trapped in very dangerous habits today because of this depraved, Adamic nature we were all born with. (In Romans 7:14-17, Paul relates his own experience in this regard). We can’t help ourselves out of this situation, but when we sincerely repent of our sins, and invite Jesus into our lives, He will come in to destroy this sinful nature, and as we continue to live for Him in daily communion and fellowship, we are able to maintain that which we have received, and nurture it.  

As this world winds up with incredible speed, the Church is fighting a big battle against the confusion the devil has unleashed in the body of Christ, to blindfold men and women, keep them entrapped in places of false religious teachings, and damn their souls eventually. Too many people are preaching too many strange things these days, and yet performing astounding miracles. It took the T.B. Joshua/Chris Oyakhilome open and undenied ministerial romance to alert us to the extent of the enemy’s infiltration, and the  seriousness he attaches to this business of  misleading the unwary. It was in Nigeria also that a “Church” was openly accused of receiving a huge sum of money said to have been stolen by a staff of a prominent hotel in Lagos, and the Church’s “miracle-working”, fashionable, “modern” posh-speaking  “pastor” did not deem it healthy to quickly isolate and denounce the action and culprit and return the money immediately. Yet, despite this clearly ungodly stance on a matter as grievous as this, human beings still throng the place. Most pitiably, these hapless people lack the discernment to discover that there must be something terribly suspicious about this show of power without purity. It has even been reported that thugs that guard some “pastors” have beaten up some people at some places in Lagos. What about that? Well, only recently, a certain preacher was told that he was in serious error, and he fired back: if really I am in error, why am I still able to perform miracles?  

A naïve question, if you ask me. Maybe, this preacher may have to go back to the Scriptures and read Jesus’ account of what would happen on the last day (see Matthew 7: 22-23): “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” 

 The truth is that the devil is not bothered by whatever you are doing and number of miracles you are performing, so long he is assured that you are living in error, and that you will join him in hell eventually. The “miracles” you are performing are serving a great purpose for him. It is helping to blindfold people, and hinder them from seeing the ungodly pre-occupations you may be wallowing in. Jesus had warned us that we should distinguish false preachers by the fruits (of unrighteousness) they manifest (and not the gifts they are able to flaunt). The devil can perform miracles too. Have we forgotten the case of Pharaoh’s magicians in the Old Testament and Simon the Sorcerer in Acts Chap 8? These two were miracle workers, but they were not children of God. 

Now, all these female Rev. Bishops and Pastors laying hands on people and praying for them with micro-minis, body-hugging clothes that emphasize their delicate parts, and low-neck blouses with boobs threatening to spill out, so they are also worshipping the holy God? The strangest thing I have seen in this age is the futile attempt by people to worship a holy God in a most ungodly and unholy manner. Some “pastors” of “modern churches” encourage their members to wear horribly revealing dresses to Church (weddings have turned into breast exhibitions!), and some men in the Church have been seduced by these ungodly displays and lusted in their hearts, while some others have gone to commit fornication, after ogling them. All happening in a place they claim is the house of the holy God! Now, Jesus’ word that a man who looks at a woman to lust after her, has committed fornication with her in his heart, also has some implications for women. If a woman, by her revealing dress seduces men into immoral thoughts and acts, she too is guilty of the same sin. It takes two to commit fornication. Moreover, Jesus’ words that whoever causes one of those people that believe him to offend, that it would better that a milestone is hung on the person’s neck and he dumped into the sea, is one of the most popular Scriptural verses.   

Unfortunately, many of the people we call pastors and preachers today are mere motivational speakers who just manage to spice up their lectures with some Scripture verses. Others are mere magicians in active business. They hardly know anything about how a man can be saved from sin and prepared for the coming of Christ. In fact, that is even not in their agenda. But the consolation is that before the trumpet sounds, God, in answer to the prayers of His genuine children, will overthrow many places of false religious practices and rescue the multitudes trapped there by miracle exhibitions or teachings about Godless prosperity.  

In that vein, the recent predicament of the General Overseer, of one prayer house in Ajao Estate, Lagos, His Holiness, Most Honourable Dr. Rev. King, can only be seen as the move of God to clean the augean stable. There are several others like him out  there  still doing their thing. Very soon, the east wind of the Lord will equally reach their dark crannies to blow them out and not only expose them for what they are, but cause them to close shop and leave town. It is a matter of time.                                     

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Robot  Villager

# 1 As I look around each day and see so many people out there claiming to be born-again, children ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 21.08.2006 07:54

Son of the Delta  Villager

# 2 Never! King was never a christian.He is a satan worshipper that camouflaged as an angel of light.Unfortunately for folks that hardly read their bible they find it extremely difficult to know the difference between God and devil worshippers.Such an evil man can only be associated with the devil whose mission is to steal,kill and destroy. Posted by Son of the Delta| 21.08.2006 11:58

tanibaba  Villager

# 3 Ugochukwu you wrote: But the consolation is that before the trumpet sounds, God, in answer to the prayers of His genuine children, will overthrow many places of false religious practices and rescue the multitudes trapped there by miracle exhibitions or teachings about Godless prosperity. And to that I say a big AMEN. I pray to God to open the eyes of my people to the truth so that it can set them free. They are in bondage right now. Thanks for the excellent piece. taslim Posted by tanibaba| 21.08.2006 12:40

WaleAkin  Villager

# 4 I am so sorry for the statement i am about to make!! Sometimes i do like the isolated violence associated with some Moslems, just imagine if this guy is a Moslem cleric, the building would have been destroyed and his head sliced into two. The Christian movement is so cool headed and at the smallest provocation, we resort to asking God to forgive the doers of evils when we should be calling for their heads on a platter like the Isi-Ewu shown in Uche's article. Do we need to take such a guy to the courts? Sometimes we should employ the services of some Mushin boys to deal with these *****s by skinning them right on Ijuwoye Markets and feeding them to the dogs!! Cheers, WaleAkin Posted by WaleAkin| 21.08.2006 14:27

Abraxas  Villager

# 5 Hi, Mr. Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye! I understand you are a columnist and member of the editorial board of a Nigerian national daily called The Independent Newspaper (www.independentngonline.com ). Maybe, …if only you had written what you wrote here in The Independent instead, very likely, you could have had your way much effortlessly, with your rather brash and audacious display of unjustifiable editorial license, injecting your personal dogma, and metaphysical worldview, right into the consciousness of unsuspecting Villagers and visitors to the Square alike, with so much reckless abandon. Please note very well that, no matter how sacrosanct or/and earth-shatteringly divine they may seem, or be to you and like-minded fellow believers, your religious beliefs are strictly personal to you, and are of no interest to any other rational third party. Period! Precisely, what tangible value can you claim to have added into the quality of open public discussions about news, views , and comments on matters of the moment, at least in Nigeria, by asking what constitutes an essentially subjective appraisal of another earth being: i.e. their spiritual alignment, or susceptibility to tales of the paranormal kind, or their naiveté in imbibing the metaphysical injunctions of some other alien cultures and civilizations. Who cares if Reverend King or anybody else for that mater is a Christian or an atheist? If he says he is a Christian, then so be it, (and big deal)! If you think he is not good enough (by your standard of religious calibration, then so be it (and big deal!) However, I do not believe that that is sufficient justification to propagate your private doctrines, myths, dogmas, and spiritual assumptions overtly in the Square. (Last warning, my good friend. I say, final warning, old chap!) Muchas gracias. Posted by Abraxas| 21.08.2006 17:32

tanibaba  Villager

# 6 @Wale Akin Your statements about muslims is a very unfortunate one. It is also an unnecessary diversion from the important issues that Ugochukwu has raised in this beautiful piece. Until you realise that society must be kept clean and healthy by all and sundry whether muslim or christian you will continue to miss important messages such as this. And for your information, the mosques dont preach things that people want to hear but what they must hear. Futhermore, you only need to show interest in Islamic discussions to be properly informed. A lot of criticisms take place not only among the various sects but also amongst scholars. Every issue under the sun, including proclamations by Ulamas and other religious leaders are always subjected to serious tests in the light of the Quran and Hadith. Please educate yourself. I am not holding brief for muslims, I am only telling you that your claims are not true. @Chukwu Once again let me congratulate you for writing this beautiful piece. The point is that some villagers are just not consistent. There are certain general principles that govern our lives as human beings. And so society makes demands on individuals based on such unwritten laws. Such demands include honesty, modesty, conformity with ethics of a profession or calling, decency, uprightness etc. You have applied some of these principles in your article dealing with religion while others have applied these principles in evaluating OBJ, IBB, the economy, government, teachers, lovers, Israel and Lebanon, etc. If what you are talking about is personal, then looting, stealing, raping and all vices in our country and elsewhere are personal. If someone chooses to be a priest or pastor that person must operate within the ambit of that calling. As for you, you have simply done what Jesus will be proud of you ie defending the faith that was once delivered to the saints. Congrats Ugo taslim Posted by tanibaba| 22.08.2006 03:58

Ugochukwu  Villager

# 7 Dear NVS Admin, It may help to give us a run-down of the topics that are NOT welcome on this site. It has become very necessary and urgent. I have seen a number of articles here that do not go down well with me, in fact, some made me really sick, to the very pit of my stomach, but, my reaction, has been to recognize that a topic I find terribly offensive may be what gives the other person the greatest animation, and so, I have held my peace. I think that’s fair enough. That should constitute the minimum expectation here… The kind of bile, aggression, threats and warnings that spiced some of the comments to this piece are I what I could conveniently ignore. But I just think that it is very important to point out, for the edification of their authors, that such gratuitous advertisement of venom is not in any way healthy to them as individuals, and in a market place of ideas like the NVS where every man/woman is free to display his or her wares. I am sorry, but I thought that when some fellows come into town and try to discredit something that is of inestimable value to me, I have every right to show that they are less-than genuine. Assuming a Ghanaian goes out there claiming to be a Nigerian, but doing things that attract disrepute to Nigeria, I suppose it wouldn’t be wrong for a Nigerian to step forward and say: hey, that fellow is not a Nigerian! He is fake! I think it is only fair to allow him that right! I just think that this unfair dose of intolerance is totally unprovoked. Now let’s look at it the other way: Here is a man whose alleged misadventure in Lagos has already left one lady dead, and several others critically ill, and we still think it is not germane a topic to be brought to the NVS, even when several other people still trapped in his den, yearning to be warned? What then should we bring to the NVS? So we should just keep quiet and watch the actions of some impostors out there rubbish what means more than everything to millions of people out there? Or refuse to sound the alarm so that others can avoid falling into the traps of some other “pastors� that are yet to be unmasked? I think it is a much more noble and worthy duty, perhaps, more than any other thing else -- to help define the boundaries of a faith that affects the lives and eternal well-being of millions of Nigerians. It is all in the public interest. I was not expecting to be applauded, because I fully understand the inter-play of forces in the matter at hand. But let’s try to voice our disagreements in a way that does not suggest that there is something in it beyond not liking the article in question. Indeed, if I must harp on the various social and political ills plaguing our country, I must harp on this too. I understand, it is the shortest route to unpopularity, but most good things never arrived through the popular routes, come to think about it! I am not imposing my views on anyone. I am only expressing them, and everyone has a choice to either enjoy it or look the other way. But my earnest desire is that everyone should savour it, and let it work out something positive and enduring in his or her life. I love you all. Ugochukwu Posted by Ugochukwu| 22.08.2006 06:32

Fjord  Villager

# 8 =Ugochukwu;126753>Assuming a Ghanaian goes out there claiming to be a Nigerian, but doing things that attract disrepute to Nigeria, I suppose it wouldn’t be wrong for a Nigerian to step forward and say: hey, that fellow is not a Nigerian! He is fake! Bad analogy. But you made your point. Pray, tell: you have an obsession with boobs? Or, you're the moral police? Self-righteous religious types invite all teh scorn they get, and that's where you miss the point; the venom and religious arrogance of the original article wouldn't be undone by a few nice, pacifying paragraphs. . Posted by Fjord| 22.08.2006 08:19

Abraxas  Villager

# 9 Hi, my good friend, Mr. Ugochukwu Ejimkeonye! Welcome to this corner of cyberspace! There is absolutely no cause for alarm. Seek ye first the minimization of the ego, and every other thing else, including the Kingdom of GOD, shall be added onto thee, my pikin. You see, no reasonable Villager, worth his (green) passport, would object to tolerating opinions of others, on a diverse spectrum of issues, including even the rather trite or/and trivial examples you so generously provided above. However, it would be tantamount to inordinate megalomania and premeditated dementia for anyone to expect any enlightened and/or rational Villager to fold their arms, sit down, keep quiet, aid, and abet a progressive descent into unproductive idle chatter, subtly loaded with low-intensity religious chauvinism. Maazi, mba...That will not work here, in the Square. Na lie! We all have a duty to re-engineer Nigeria, and I believe, the re-engineering process begins with ourselves. Everything begins with you. No matter who you are, or what you do, its true, to make all you dreams come true. Our task, as bona fide law-abiding, progress-loving virtual citizens of the Nigerian Village Square, is to establish a self-regulating, world class Internet-based Nigeria-centred meeting point for the generation, pilot-testing, propagation, conceptualisation and gestation of workable ideas, for the ultimate benefit of Nigeria, Nigerians, and friends of Nigeria worldwide. If you like, you may think of the Nigerian Village Square as a definitive statement of “Nigerianness”, and everything that makes Nigeria, Nigeria: the good, the bad, the hypocritical, the ethnic chauvinistic, the sexist, the divine, the beautiful, the ugly, the cynical, the gullible, the irreverent, the charitable, the son-of-a-bitch, the cheat, the praise-singer, the respectful, the clown, in short, Nigeria as it is: warts and all! (Şé you get?) All you need to do, my friend, is to quietly adapt to the radical change that your nervous system is currently encountering or would encounter in this sector of cyberspace, adjust accordingly, and flow in tune with the associated paradigm shift of life on the information super highway, in direct contrast to the seemingly relatively tamer and structured reality of hard copy newsprint journalism. The ego is a terrible thing to massage. Welcome to cyberspace, were most right-thinking Villagers reside, and make sporadic surgical incursions at the several existential dysfunctions that plague Nigeria, including strategic planning of decapitation manoeuvres against the incumbent status quo. Welcome, but keep your religion to yourself, please: we have more pressing issues to worry about. Thank you-o-O, my pikin. Muchas gracias, mi amigo. Posted by Abraxas| 22.08.2006 09:09

Auspicious  Villager

# 10 Oh Lord of mercy! This guy is a nutter..an admirable nutter!!! Auspicious. Posted by Auspicious| 22.08.2006 10:14

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