This is my second article following the first one dubbed “PROPHETS AND SCAREMONGERING”.
To begin with, when it comes to religious and spiritual matters, not many people dare stick out their necks especially because religious and spiritual issues are often construed as mystical, mythical or mysterious.
Many more would assign faith instead of reason and scientific analysis to these subjects. However, things have gotten to alarming, nauseating and choking proportions.
By this article, I am calling upon all rational and sound minded Christians in particular and all well meaning Ghanaians to join me to say a big “NO” to religious hooligans, charlatans, scaremongers and terrorists parading themselves as prophets. Remember that evil triumphs in society when good people shut up and do nothing. I am encouraged by many voices of reason against the menace which is threatening public peace, law and order.
More significantly, there is flagrant and audacious abuse of freedom of speech and religion and utter disregard for privacy and dignity of other people who also have unalienable rights to dignity and privacy in the name prophetic utterances. Not only are these apologies of prophecy flouting the laws of Ghana; they are at the same time causing fear and panic among the citizenry generally and particularly the families of the people they make those senseless prophetic utterances and declarations to.
How do you publicly humiliate the dignity of another individual outside your church and family and call that ‘prophecy’? It is a clear demonstration of religious insanity bereft of any modicum of God given common sense. It is must be stressed that God is not an author of confusion, irrationality and mindless religious zeal.
More so, the same Bible they clandestinely misinterpret to justify and rationalize their ignorance and misinformation of gullible people is succinct on the need for Christians to live in harmony and at peace with all men. The Bible even goes further to talk about the fact that one should endeavour to avoid doing good if it would create bad press. Apostle Peter cautioned Christians against using their freedom as pretext for evil.
In respect of the above injunctions, Apostle Paul equally advocated that even speaking in other tongues was to be avoided among unbelieving people; not to speak of prophecy for public consumption when Ghana is a secular country. Only deluded bunch of God forsaken fetish priests masquerading as prophets would engage in the infantile gymnastics we are witnessing in Ghana today.
My biggest problem is the loud silence of the Christian Council of Ghana, Ghana Pentecostal Council and Peace Council. If these bodies refuse to act as expected in these matters, then state institutions like Parliament, the Judicial Council, Ghana Police Service, CSOs and the executive should step in to ensure sanity and order. If this happens, Christian churches and groups should not cry wolf.
As a last resort, any individual who is a victims of these scaremongering tactics and populist prophecies should as a matter of urgency consider legal redress against these modern day stomach prophets in order for them regain their senses. Any form of assault on any citizen of Ghana is an assault on all Ghanaians. Consequently, I call on all Ghanaians everywhere to speak with one united against all forms of religious fanaticism and bigotry.
# SAY NO TO PROPHETIC ABSURDITY
CLEMENT ADJEI SARFO,
President, LEADERSHIP EMPOWERMENT INT.
(Website: leadershipempowermentint.org/blog.php for more articles)
