Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction - Blaise Pascal
Most of us would express horror at the sight of a middle-aged man slapping a young woman around the face in public. Yet if the perpetrator is called a “man of god”, or it takes place in a church, a different morality appears to operate.
The recent reaction to the video of “Papa” Bishop David Oyedepo slapping a young woman in church has raised the question of whether some Christians are able to discern right from wrong when blinded by faith.
What’s disturbing in the video, besides the nature of the assault, is the cheering of the congregation and the lack of reaction of those men standing behind. Their moral response mechanism seems to have been numbed.
Bizarrely, some Christians use the very book they claim gives us morality to prevent us making moral judgements, particularly on religious leaders, by using the out-of-context “judge not” and “touch not God’s anointed”.
Below are some reactions from the internet in which Christians wriggle out of condemning this act (spelling and grammar untouched):
“spiritual things cannot be naturally discerned”
“A man of God under the unction of the holy ghost slaped.”
“Who re u to judge or condem a servant of.let’s leave everything to God.else,be ready to face d wrath of God.”
“Papa slap more witches as you are been led by the holy spirit,”
“slapping is not a crime when ministering”
“thats the African way to discipline children”
These followers see a plot to overthrow Oyedepo and allow the devil to be victorious. They claim the allegations are just jealousy against his material wealth (which says more about their corrupt and “worldly” value system!). Others have claimed Oyedepo wasn’t slapping the girl but the evil spirit inside her. And then there’s the convenient moral fuzzy statement that God’s morality is not our morality, meaning what seems to be wrong is really right!
We have seen similar problems regarding Christians who worship with TB Joshua. All the allegations of sexual abuse and so on, do not seem to concern them. Rather than support an investigation to clear the name of their beloved, they claim all the allegations are lies of the devil.
There are, of course, courageous Christians who have expressed outrage at atrocities committed by churches and church leaders. But is there a particular problem with the Christianity as expressed in Africa, possibly as a result of the missionary’s introduction of Christianity as one of unquestioning obedience?
What this shows is that being a Christian does not automatically provide one with a sense of morality, compassion or empathy. At this point I will be told that those people are not understanding / interpreting the bible correctly. But the ambiguity of the bible is precisely the problem. Most of us come to the bible with our own culturally determined morality and base our life around humanist ethics and values. But there still persist pockets of belief which seem immune to reason, which allow the Oyedepo’s not just to assault poor women but to brag about it after.
Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy – Proverbs 31-9
Related articles
- Dawkins: PM Wrong On Christian Values (kelhan1.wordpress.com)
- “Nigeria’s Wealthiest Preacher” Bishop David Oyedepo Slaps Girl in Church (barthsnotes.com)
- How do Christians make moral decisions by using there consciences (wiki.answers.com)
- The Pervert’s Guide to Christianity (philascroft.wordpress.com)
I am Christian, and I was appalled and offended by what he did. I think he should be arrested for abuse and aggravation. Many Christians are like me – they think.
There are however, sheeple who obviously refuse to use their grey matter, and no matter what you say/how you argue/how you try to urge them to see what’s so offensive about what Oyedepo did they will disagree with you – which is how come they attend his church/listen to him anyway – his church and other charlatans//dupes/abusers/thieves/psychopaths masquerading as “pastors”
I wonder whether it’s a specific problem with this type of personality-cult pastor. I could never imagine defending my village vicar so strongly in the UK! Perhaps these pastors attract a certain kind of unthinking person looking for quick fixes or it’s a problem with the charismatic movement in West Africa?
Hi Graham,
This incident doesn’t surprise me because the chruches (pastors) in Ghana have tremendous power. They are allowed to blast their services with amplifiers and speakers over the whole community at all hours of the day and night. If one objects (even in order to get a little sleep), one is said to be “against God.” So apparently God wants them to force their services on everyone and keep people awake when they should be sleeping!
An example of the power of “worship” was with the man living next to the school where I lived and volunteered in Ghana.He started playing on his radio incredibly loud music at 5:30 a.m. When I finally went to complain, he said, “Aren’t you a Chrisitan?” I couldn’t understand how this rock-type music was worship and why it must be played at that hour in order to please God and annoy other people. (UnChristian behavior!)
Dear Graham,
I have just found your blog – when I entered the keywords „Ghana/Schools/Beating“ into the Google search engine – and it appeals very much to me.
Christianity is a rather recent phenomenon in Ghana so to speak, not even 200 years old (e.g. the Basel Mission first arrived on the then Gold Coast in 1828 and did prove to work very “successfully” until the 1850s). I also believe that a certain behaviour as disposed of by the first missionaries also helped to shape the nature of the pastors as they are today in Ghana and elsewhere, where being a pastor is prestigious. Whereas in the “old” Christian countries, your village vicar does not enjoy the same respect by people, he is rather ridiculed or pitied for having chosen such a profession.
In the past, up to the 16th century, the Catholic priests often abused their power enormously, which, as we all know, led to the Protestant Reformation. So in the case of Ghana and other countries with a rather short history of Christianity, it will take some time, until a critical potential towards the church/es and its representatives will grow. And it is already growing, not only can one read in Ghanaian newspapers about crimes committed by pastors but also sometimes acid-tongued commentaries about them, the same also in the film industry, recently some DVD films were made with titles like “Ɛnnɛ asɔfoɔ” (= today’s pastors) or “Jesus must wait”, etc., which are highly critical towards the way of how certain pastors behave. So there is hope, it is just a matter of time.
Thanks very much for your comments. You make some interesting points about the history of Christianity in Ghana and the notion of prestige. I would be interested in investigating these further. I am curious to understand the way the missionaries concept of Christianity has shaped the form we see in Ghana today.
i guess u know i’m a christian.
I was very shocked an appalled when i saw the video of the pastor slapping the young lady some time ago.
what shocked me most was the attempt by members of his church to justify it
That man stands for a lot of things i don’t believe in. Violence especially against women is a just inexcusable in my opinion.
I don’t know where that comes from.
Personal, i think he should have been arrested .
Sadly, nothing will be done.
it seems of late we hear more of this kind of nonsense every day. I don’t know if it’s actually on the increase or if it’s because social networks have gained more prominence.
Either way, it gives Christianity a bad name
Leave judgement to the Lord oh you people. BELIEVE what you wish to believe. Those who are given to Christ are his and he will never loose any of them. What ever comments you post here with aim to detract and mislead will profit nothing. This I say because many are called but a few are chosen.
Well Johnny, your comment is exactly why I wrote this post. Are we not able to make our own moral judgements? The bible says we should make judgements – “Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31-9)
Just because someone says they are given to Christ doesn’t mean they are. Do you believe anyone who says this? How do you know Papa is chosen? And if he is, does this mean he is beyond reproach and can behave however he wants?
Pastors are merely failable human beings like the rest of us and deserve to follow the same moral codes.