The 16th century was turbulent for Christians in Europe. It was the period in which the Pope waxed supreme over Europe, and monastic institutions owned half of the lands on the continent. By implication, the wealth of the nations belonged to the monasteries and the Vatican.During this period, the protestant movement started when Martin Luther, a German monk and professor of theology in the Church of Rome, and a few others challenged the church on specific abuses and the inconsistency of some of its teachings with the Christian scriptures. The resulting reform agenda was encapsulated in five solas written in Latin. They included the Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, and Soli Deo Gloria meaning by scripture alone, through Christ alone, by grace alone, by faith alone, and glory to God alone.Although the reformers identified many things that were wrong in the church, the sale of indulgences had caused a great deal of disquiet. An indulgence is a payment to the church that supposedly purchased exemption from punishment for certain sins. Indulgences, purgatory, penance, the veneration of dead saints, and even the Mass all opened the way for much fund-raising activities and the exploitation of the ignorant and superstitious. The church was so deep in worldliness that Erasmus, the greatest theologian and scholar of the period, underscored the decadent state of the priesthood when he said, "No word of Christ is heard on the pulpit; I doubt whether in the whole history of Christianity the heads of the church have been so grossly worldly as at the present moment." Also, Pious Dean Colet of St. Pauls in London had much harsher words for the priests.With bitter sarcasm, and reference to 1 Corinthians 14:19, Erasmus commented on the training of choir boys. He queried why the church had to raise money for the purchase of organs, as well as for teaching the youths to squeal.Does this resonate with what is happening in our churches today, especially in Africa' Rock concerts and the greed for money, clothed in tithes and offering, seem to have replaced genuine worship. In his epistle, Peter warns believers about false prophets who would with feigned words make merchandise of them.We see history repeating itself in our time with the abandonment of the gospel of salvation for another gospel that is centred around man, instead of God; a gospel where Christ has become our servant instead of our master, waiting on our every material and covetous need, on the command of the pastor. This is reminiscent of the culture of greed that pervaded the church in the 16th century and gave birth to the reform-minded protestant movement. The commercialisation of churches has taken a new dimension in our day. Charlatans, disguised as men of God are springing up everywhere to exploit the vulnerable. One can only describe these individuals as motivational speakers. The greater part of their time is spent cajoling people to give to their respective Christian organisations, on condition that God will recompense them tenfold in material wealth. The formula is so successful that even witchdoctors and herbalists are abandoning their grottos to set up churches. Churches have become where people supposedly come to double their money.In an environment dominated by poverty, fear, and superstition, it is easy for these charlatans to sell their messages to the congregations, who, sadly, soak up every word they speak.A foreign visitor once commented on how he was awakened one morning by the voices of people screaming, "Die, die, die; fire, fire, fire!" At first, the visitor had thought he was dreaming, only to realise that this was actually a church raining fire and brimstone on their perceived enemies. This brand of charismatic worship that first came from America pervades most churches in Nigeria. Now it is being exported to the rest of the globe; a gospel rooted and formed in covetousness and avarice. The leaders of the church are now so rich from the exploitation of their congregation that priests can no longer, unlike Peter and John, say to the lame beggar on the street, "Silver and gold have I none" because they have buckets of it. In the same vein, they can no longer say to the beggar, "Rise up and walk, " since they have much gold to give him.The greater tragedy is what these false teachers are doing to some families. Marriages are breaking up on account of their false visions and revelations, as wives, mothers, and grandparents are labelled as witches by these pastors. The most heinous of the crimes are perpetuated on children who serve as househelpers. These poor souls are blamed for all the ills of the family, from unemployment in the family to sickness and bereavement. Confessions are extracted from these children whose only crime seems to be that they are poor and so have no one to fight for them. The fear of witches and demons now pervade the consciousness of most believers, fuelled by the teachings from these pastors. These so-called men of God make incredible claims of the powers they have, even putting themselves at par with God. They make preposterous claims of healing that are only seen on television in distant places. Some even claim they can resurrect the dead. They brainwash their followers, telling them that nothing happens in life for natural reasons. The Holy Bible is full of warnings about these false teachers, from Genesis to Revelation. It is almost impossible for the poor to see their pastors in the bigger churches, as this would mean another round of offering. Meanwhile the Christ they purport to represent, we are told in the scriptures, was meek and humble that even little children had access to him. The fact that a pastor quotes a verse in the scriptures correctly or performs a miracle and he has 10,000 followers does not necessary mean he is genuine. Even Satan quoted the same scriptures when he tempted Christ. In these perilous times, wisdom and a discerning mind on the part of Christians is necessary.Mr. Nwachukwu, a UK-based business consultant, can be reached at emmanuel@pssolutions-ltd.com.
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