A pastor holding a bible. Two University of Nairobi scholars have
challenged mainstream churches to prepare sermons that counter
"prosperity gospel". FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Two University of Nairobi (UoN) scholars have challenged
mainstream churches to prepare sermons that counter “falsehoods peddled
by prosperity preachers” to fleece Kenyans.
The
lectures conducted a research and published a paper titled, “Blessed Are
the Rich and Prosperous For Theirs Is the Kingdom of the World: The
Kenyan Challenge.
The UoN’s Department of Philosophy
and Religious Studies Senior Lecturer Dr Constantine Mwikamba and
Associate Professor Stephen Akaranga aver that the prosperity gospel
revolution “must be countered to reduce exploitation of Kenyans by its
proponents”.
“Prosperity gospel preachers arouse the follower’s faith, through their messages, music and dance which often hypnotizes them.
“The
typical spiritual aspects of the prosperity gospel are not significant
to the followers as there is least emphasis on the biblical teaching of
suffering and instead, emphasis is laid on health and wealth
acquisition,” the lectures said in the article.
REVOLUTION
The
142-page article adds that success of the prosperity gospel cannot be
wished away and any effort to counter it will be met with resistance
from the followers who attend churches “where preachers have repackaged
their sermons to be relevant and fitting to the poor”.
“Of
course there is an element of exploitation, in these institutions but
it is not robbery by violence. But, the Christian fraternity needs to
create theories and methodologies to counter the powerful prosperity
gospel revolution,” they observed.
The lectures
investigated the rapid growth of the prosperity church in Africa and
Kenya in particular, the role of the prosperity gospel clergy in their
churches, its impact on the faithful and on the growth of Christianity.
The
lectures observed that the preachers have taken to television screens
with a bang where they appear “highly decorated and flamboyant,
boisterous in their style and demeanour, fond of expensive, imported
clothes and gadgets, coiffure (hairdo) and meticulous in their approach.
“They
adore self-styled titles, real and imagined before their names. They
live in palatial homes, drive high class and top of the art vehicles,
are very successful and arouse hopefulness to their adherents.
“There
is hardly any prosperity church that is without a formidable presence
on television where leading bishops (televangelists) compete for space
and membership in the open arena for airwave subscription,” the lectures
said.
In their research, the lectures distributed
questionnaires to 200 faithful of various “modern” churches in Nairobi
and Mombasa. They requested them to comment on how they benefit by
attending the churches.
The results showed 67.5 per
cent respondents said they had a better self-concept, their marital
status and family life had improved since they started attending the
'modern’ churches.
HEALTH
Good health and spirituality scored averagely but most of them complained of lack of wealth accumulation and healing.
Most
of the respondents said they were attracted to the churches due to the
huge and beautiful edifices costing millions of shillings.
The
lecturers observed that in their research, they discovered that most of
the churches had opened schools and transport businesses.
“Some
have even ventured into mainstream businesses, like operating bookshops
where they sell both religious and secular literature. There are a few
that have joined the lucrative matatu business," the paper stated.
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