The Christian Church in Ghana and corruption
Due to the fallen moral standards even in the Church, corruption has risen to alarming heights in Ghana” — Frank Okyere.
The Christian Church is an institution established by God to fight against corruption because He (God) detests it. Examples abound in the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation concerning God’s reaction to corrupt individuals which were to set examples for future generations to emulate. An epitome of this is God’s punishment to the two sons of Eli (the priest and leader of Israel)—Hophni and Phinehas—who capitalised on their positions as priests to engage in corruption for dishonest gain, as well as satisfied their sexual desires with women who served at the tent of meeting (1Samuel 2:12-36). The apostles in Acts chapter 2 verses 14 to 25 set a good example by resisting Simon, the sorcerer’s attempt to bribe them for the gift of the Holy Spirit: “Peter answered: May your money perish with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry because your heart is not right before God.”
Lack of fear of God has emboldened some current Christian leaders to overlook Biblical adjurations against engaging in corrupt acts. What are some of the corrupt acts some Church leaders commit in contemporary times? How can these atrocious acts be addressed to redirect congregants’ attention to the right way? This article seeks to find answers to the above questions.
Atrocious corrupt acts
There are good pastors in Ghana whose primary preoccupation is to “save souls for Christ” rather than satisfy their desires for wealth. Likewise, there are dubious ones who have turned the Church into an arena of thieves with false prophecies that satisfy the itching ears of congregants. The Akan maxim, “sɛ wo dwene papa a, dwene bone”, meaning “as you think of good, think of evil as well”, enjoins us to simultaneously think and dichotomised the vicissitude of real-life situations and how they positively or negatively affect one’s life’s progress. We apply this wisdom to identify questionable practices of certain Charismatic Christian Church leaders in Ghana.
In contemporary Ghanaian history, the spotlight has been put on Pentecostal churches and their charismatic leaders to scrutinise their practices and ideologies. Relatedly, Prophet Kofi Oduro admonished his colleagues to stop selling “miracle water”, oil and other spiritual items in their churches. Bishop Nyarko also denounced some pastors for their penchant for prophecies that were often about the death of prominent figures. Others have also been accused of not being spiritually gifted or fortified as they were unable to either heal COVID-19 patients or prevent the spread of the infection in the throes of the pandemic in Ghana. It is interesting to note that some pastors dismissed the threat of the virus by asking their congregants to rely on their faith for protection. Moreso, Reverend Isaac Owusu Bempah prophesied that the coronavirus pandemic would die down before Easter (end of March 2020), which obviously did not happen.
Thanks to the Biblical phrase “touch not my anointed and do my prophets no harm,” which implores Christians not to criticise religious leaders, people are reluctant to publicly question the immoral and fraudulent acts such as the efficacy of allegedly anointed items (rocks, water, oils, etc.) meant to solve people’s problems by certain religious leaders. Congregants have become vulnerable, gullible and at the mercy of the teachings of false prophets. There seemed to be a tacit decree that broaching such matters is tantamount to sacrilege.
In 2018, Bishop Obinim popularised his “miraculous Obinim stickers”. He claimed that posting his stickers on the location of one’s ailment/issues relieves the affliction. Many Ghanaians responded with satirical testimonies on social media about the “efficacy” of the stickers:
She was pregnant and didn’t have money for an abortion. She bought one of Obinim stickers, placed it on her stomach and boom the baby vanished from her without any trace again.
Glory be to God #obinimsticker
My room was so hot even with the fan on. But after I used Obinim sticker on the fan, it worked like an AC.
#ObinimStickerChallenge
Where in the Holy Scriptures is abortion—killing unborn innocent babies—encouraged? Is this a so-called miracle of God or from another source? What are the members of the numerous Christian Church Leadership associations doing to rectify these anomalies bedevilling the Church in Ghana? This is a call to action. A call to engage in an intense conversation with recommended resolutions and actions that would bring back the lost glory of the Christian Church in Ghana for ethical Christian living and reduction in corruption.
The writers are lecturers at the Ashesi University
This article draws from an earlier published piece by:
Joseph Oduro-Frimpong (2020). “Now more than ever, Ghana’s Christians
don’t need false prophets.” https://www.coronatimes.net/ghana-christians-dont-need-false-prophets-covid-19/