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Prosperity gospel is scam, satanic – Catholic priest
A Catholic priest in Nigeria, John Oluoma, has said that the prosperity gospel is a scam and satanic and that Christians should discountenance it.
Mr Oluoma, otherwise known as Fada Oluoma, stated this in a Facebook post on Saturday where he rhetorically asked why the Nigerian economy, for instance, has continued to deteriorate “despite all the crossover and January prayers, decrees and prophecies”.
“What’s the essence of doing all these spiritual exercises if they are not working?” said Mr Oluoma whose bio on Facebook says he is a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with prayers, fasting, prophecies and decrees,” he said. “There could be everything wrong with the motive and kind of prayers, fasting, prophecies and decrees.”
What’s prosperity gospel?
Encyclopaedia Britannica describes the prosperity gospel as “the teaching that faith—expressed through positive thoughts, positive declarations, and donations to the church—draws health, wealth, and happiness into believers’ lives.
“It is also referred to as the ‘health and wealth gospel’ or ‘name it and claim it.’
“Central to this teaching are the beliefs that salvation through Jesus Christ includes liberation from not only death and eternal damnation but also poverty, sickness, and other ills. Adherents believe that God wants believers to be richly blessed in this life and that physical well-being and material riches are always God’s will for the faithful. Illness and poverty are seen as curses that, through atonement, can be broken with faith in Jesus,” it added.
Prosperity gospel is a global movement common among Protestant Christianity. It began in the early 20th century and has continued to gain ground in different parts of the world.
Globally, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, and Kenneth Hagin are among the well-known prosperity preachers.
David Oyedepo, a Nigerian cleric and bishop of Living Faith Church, also known as Winners’ Chapel, is among the globally recognised prosperity preachers.
Another Nigerian cleric, Matthew Ashimolowo, the senior pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre, London, is also top on the list of prosperity preachers in the world.
‘Israel’s wealth not from prayers’
Mr Oluoma, the Catholic priest, said Israel which Christians all over the world refer to as the Holy Land “never prospered economically at any point by prayers, prophecies and decrees”.
He said, “The peak of Israel’s economic prosperity in the Old Testament period was the monarchy, it’s the 8th Century BC. They were so prosperous that they became immoral, and that’s the period of the rise of prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah Elisha, Amos and the rest. God raised prophets to warn them of the danger of materialism, not to make them prosperous.”
Continuing, the Catholic priest said, “How this generation of Nigerian Christians bought the gospel of prosperity and cling tightly to it despite the contradictory evidence should be the most sophisticated type of delusion for study.
“Prosperity gospel and its overt and subtle corollaries is a hoax, a scam and a satanic idea.”
Mr Oluoma quoted some lines from the Beatitudes – “Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20)” – and a verse from the Bible, Mark 10:21-25, where Jesus talked about how difficult it could be for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Apparently, referring to Jesus, he said, “How could the man who said all these and lived by them make you wealthy because someone else made such prayer and decrees in his name?
“He never made any of his followers financially prosperous. Those like Mathew who were wealthy became poor by following him. Then someone tells you today that by uttering decrees and prayers in his name you will become financially prosperous and the Naira will become equal to a dollar, and you believe? You are just delusional and ignorant.”
The priest said his comment does not mean that Nigerians should stop praying.
“Should we stop praying? Nope, the effects of the genuine prayers and fasts and other pieties we do are showing. The fact that the majority are still hard working and not resorting to banditry, armed robbery, prostitution and other destructive vices to make a living despite the hardship is a grace from those prayers.
“The fact that the majority still believe in God, love God and people, and spread love and hope in the midst of the economic woes are the effects of the genuine prayers and pieties offered here.
“Genuine prayers and pieties are working, only the useless ones are not. Fake and false prophecies do not work, have never worked and will never work,” he added.
‘It’s hypocrisy to attack prosperity gospel’
Joseph Prince, a 60-year-old Singaporean evangelist and the senior pastor, New Creation Church in Singapore, is among the global faces of the prosperity gospel.
Mr Prince, in 2021, defended the prosperity gospel. He said those who were attacking it were just being hypocritical.
“The wrong teachings of prosperity that produce materialism, greed, avarice, we are all against that. But those that are against prosperity as a whole are negating the scripture…
“There’s some hypocrisy here because many of them are prospering. They have more than one car, they live in expensive homes, they send their children to the best schools, and they want their children to succeed. But all the while they are coming against prosperity. So, the question I want to ask is who do they give credit to for their own success and prosperity? To themselves, they are smart? No, God wants to get all the glory,” he said.
Repentant prosperity preacher
A repentant prosperity preacher in Nigeria, Abel Damina, said many of his fellow Nigerian pastors have constantly attacked him for preaching that pastors were using prosperity messages to extort.
“My problem began with organised religion the moment I said there’s nothing like seed and tapping by giving money. All hell broke loose – how can Dr Damina say you don’t need to give money to be blessed, you don’t need to give to God for God to multiply your money? How can Dr Damina be attacking our business empire? How can he be driving our customers away?
“We have been feeding on the ignorance of gullible Christians,” Mr Damina, who is the pastor of the Uyo-based Power City International, said in a video clip posted on Facebook.
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Natasha’s case to be assigned to another Judge as Egwuatu recuse himself, citing Akpabio’s petition
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, has recused himself from Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s case citing a petition by lawyers to Senator Godswill Akpabio.
The case bothered on suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Udughan from the Senate for six months, but a dramatic twist to it Justice Egwuatu who is presiding over the matter on Tuesday recused himself and ordered that the cas file be sent to the Chief Justice for reassignment.
The trial judge based his decision on a petition the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, wrote to challenge his objectivity in the matter.
Though the suit was originally fixed for hearing, however, when the matter was called up by the court’s clerk, Justice Egwuatu announced his decision in a short ruling he delivered.
He said the case-file would be returned to the Chief Judge for a reassignment to another judge.
It will be recalled that Justice Egwuatu had on March 4, issued an interim order that stopped the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions from going ahead with the disciplinary proceeding that was initiated against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan over an allegation that she flouted rules of the legislative house.
He held that the disciplinary process should be placed on hold, pending the determination of the suit that was brought before him by the embattled female lawmaker.
More so, Justice Egwuatu gave defendants in the matter, 72 hours to show cause why it should not issue an order of interlocutory injunction to stop them from probing the plaintiff for alleged misconduct, without affording her the privileges stipulated in the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Senate Standing Order 2023, and the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act.
He granted permission for the plaintiff to serve the Originating Summons and all the accompanying processes on all the defendants, through substituted means.
It held that they should be served by handing the processes to the Clerk of the National Assembly or by pasting them on the premises of the National Assembly and publishing same in two national dailies.
The interim orders followed an ex-parte application and an affidavit of urgency that was brought before the court by the lawmaker.
However, despite the orders of the court, the Senate Committee held its sitting and slammed the plaintiff with a six months suspension.
Following an application by the defendants, Justice Egwuatu subsequently amended the interim order he issued in favour of the plaintiff, by vacating the aspect that barred the Senate from undertaking any activity within the pendency of the suit.
The Senate President had through his team of lawyers led by Mr. Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, queried the powers of the court to meddle in the affairs of the Senate.
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Reports of Justice Agim accompanying Wike to UNICAL convocation false, misleading Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has denied that one of its justices, Justice Emmanuel Agim accompanies the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory to the convocation at the University of Calabar in the South South Nigeria.
The denial came amid suspicion that Justice Agim who wrote a judgment of the Supreme Court in favour of the 27 lawmakers in Rivers State is close to Wike, hence, his presence around Wike has triggered speculations.
Wike is the former governor of Rivers State and a current of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) who controls lawmakers in Rivers.
In a statement issued on Monday by the Supreme Court’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Festus Akande, he refuted the claims, saying Agim attended the event on his own.
The statement described the rumour as misleading, insisting that Justice Agim attended the event as a honoree, urging Nigerians to disregard the social media lies.
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“Hon. Justice Agim attended the convocation as an esteemed honouree and an alumnus of the institution, who the Governing Council had found worthy to be conferred with an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Law (Doctor Honoris Causa),” the statement read.
“That Justice Agim was recognized for his significant contributions to the legal profession, which reflect his dedication to justice, integrity, and the rule of law.
Naija News reports that the statement highlighted that Justice Agim’s achievements serve as an inspiration for aspiring legal professionals and students alike.
The statement also addressed the claim that Justice Agim had attended the convocation ceremony in the company of Nyesom Wike.
It stressed that this was a false narrative, stating that Justice Agim’s attendance was independent of any government ministry or department and that he was not accompanying any government official.
“Any insinuation to the contrary is not only inaccurate but undermines the judicial independence that is crucial to our democracy,” the Supreme Court emphasized.
Additionally, the statement noted that Justice Agim had been scheduled to attend the burial ceremony of Hon. Justice Stanley Alagoa in Bayelsa State but had sought permission to attend the convocation ceremony instead.
In conclusion, the Supreme Court urged the media and the public to verify information through credible sources before dissemination.
“We encourage the public and media to verify information through credible sources before sharing or publishing to prevent the spread of misinformation,” the statement concluded.
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State of Emergency in Rivers: $5,000 shared to Reps as ‘Sallah gesture,’ not bribe – Hon. Betara
Member representing Biu/Bayo/Shania/Kwaya/Kusar Federal Constituency of Borno State, Hon. Mukhtar Aliyu Betara has disclosed that he shared $5,000 with members of his committee as a “Sallah gesture”.
Betara who is the Reps Committee Chairman on FCT said the money was not a bribe to pass resolution declaring a state of emergency in Rivers as being insinuated.
The was posted by a Nigerian investigative journalist, Jaafar Jaafar on his X handle.
Jaafar said Betara explained this to him after the lawmaker reached out to clarify that the $5,000 given to lawmakers was merely a “Sallah gesture” and not an inducement.
He quoted Batara to have said the gesture was a long standing g tradition and has nothing to do with the state of emergency I Rivers.
Jaafar wrote:
“The chairman of the House Committee on FCT, Mukhtar Aliyu Betara, has clarified to me that he only shared $5,000 with each member of his committee as a ‘Sallah gesture,’ not as an inducement to support emergency rule in Rivers State.
“According to him, he maintains the tradition—like Santa Claus—every year.
“As we say in Hausa, not thigh but hind leg.”
The clarification by Betara came amid strong speculations that Senators received $15,000 bribe to pass a resolution to sustain declaration of state of emergency rule in Rivers.
The bribe was reportedly shared on Tuesday before they voted on Wednesday.
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