The incredible lies of the political prophets

In the extraordinary days of social restiveness amid the unexpected arrival of the mysterious and insidious coronavirus, I took time off my tight schedule and painstakingly delved into the prophecy archives of the so-called Men of God with the view to ascertaining whether there were earlier prophesies on coronavirus outbreak.

To my utter disbelief, I did not come across any of such prophesies. ‘What a surprise’! I soliloquised in amazement.

I thought I was dreaming. But I was not. I was wide-awake. God did not inform the Men of God of the imminent arrival of the pernicious coronavirus. Wonders shall never end, our elders say.

Back then, a long-term confidant of mine suggested somewhat passionately that the so-called Men of God are rather experts in predicting the issues about the two main political parties (the NPP and the NDC).

My pal then posed somewhat forcefully: so do you believe that their prophecies are really from God?

My dear reader, let’s be honest, how can God hide the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus from His messengers and foretell them of the outcome of elections?

In recent times, some of us have been listening and reading, albeit with puzzled countenance to the so-called Men of God’s incoherent and somewhat preposterous claims that God has given them the authority to choose the president of Ghana.

The isolated thinker’s notion of Jehovah God’s absolute control in a system which depends solely on universal suffrage (the democratic right of all sound adult citizens to vote in an election) is somewhat vague, I must emphasise.

It was against such backdrop that I was in agreement with the erudite pastor, Dr Mensa Otabil, when he aptly asserted prior to the 2024 general elections that God does not nominate the so-called prophets to choose presidents of a nation (emphasis mine).

The overarching question we should be asking then is: does the all-knowing God also choose the head of states for the advanced countries or it is only in Ghana?

It is rather unfortunate for the so-called prophets to keep hiding behind the holy book and put words in God’s mouth.

In Ghana today, false prophets are blissfully at work, and command a multitude of unsuspecting truth seekers, many of whom unfortunately, lack knowledge, hence following the con-artists, who are probably resorting to black magic or necromancy, albeit masquerading as “Men of God”.

Unfortunately, all sort of people have made it a habit of hiding behind the religion and shamefully proselytising and hoodwinking unsuspecting truth seekers.

Yes, the pretentious Men of God have succeeded in proselytizing and fleecing unsuspecting truth seekers, who only want adulterated, more 'palatable' forms of Truth, watered down and compromised for convenience.

The political prophets would often seek refuge in the Holy Book and try to manipulate a section of the voting public in accepting that God has nominated them to select the person who should lead the nation.

Of course, the manipulating Men of God would always succeed in brainwashing some gullible truth seekers who doubled up as eligible voters in accepting such balderdash.

It is written, “but the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die”(Deuteronomy 18:20).

Jeremiah 14:14: “Then the LORD said unto me, the prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.” And if thou say in thine heart, how shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? (Deuteronomy 18:21).

When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follows not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him (Deuteronomy 18:22).“

My pal was absolutely right: ‘false Prophets can sometimes perform Impressive Miracles to deceive their followers.

Mat 24:24: ‘For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect’.

In fact, the Bible talks about false prophets and their self-expansiveness and the need for their followers to be on their guard.

The influx of the so-called Men of God and their revoltingly ugly activities are a cause for concern, so to speak.

How long should we endure the complexities of false prophets and their antipathetic interpretations of Christianity?

I cannot for the life of me, get my head around how and why any authority on this planet would turn a blind eye to the complexities of false prophets and their antipathetic teachings of Christianity and societal norms.

Some of us jumped for joy when some Members of Parliament prudently called for the enactment of regulation to curb the unscrupulous activities of the men and women who are swindling and maltreating the unsuspecting followers in the name of God.

It pains my heart so much to stress that the founders of the one-man churches have long been getting away with their ceaseless scheming guiles and irrevocable self-aggrandisement.

It is an undeniable fact that freedom of worship is an inalienable human right, which is encapsulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

More significantly, freedom of worship has been transposed and given meaning in Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.

As such, there is no permitted abridgment as to which religious sect one could join. Indeed, individuals have their inherent dignity and inalienable rights to choose or join any congregation of their choice.

That being said, the founders of those churches do not have God’s given right to trample on the inalienable rights of their church members, while the authorities look on unperturbed.

Let me stress forcefully that this article is not seeking to censure those churches that have contributed in the past, and still contributing meaningfully to the advancement of humanity.

Indeed, the vast majority of Ghanaians owe a great debt of gratitude to orthodox churches for their unstinting missionary endeavours.

I am a living witness. I, personally, have benefited immensely from my alma mater, Prempeh College, the best mission school by a country mile.

To me, the orthodox churches deserve every commendation for their numerous charitable endeavours. However, the same cannot be said about the “one-man churches”.

The influx of the so-called Men of God and their revoltingly ugly activities are troubling, so to speak.

The Ghanaian authorities have unfortunately turned a blind eye to the revoltingly ugly activities of some founders of the one-man churches such as noise making, illegal trading (anointing oil), torturing followers, fleecing of general public and unnecessary tax evasions.

Of course, the one-man churches have registered or often seen as charitable organisations-non-profit making organisations. But do they deserve such benevolent status? No.

As a matter of fact and observation, some founders of the one-man churches are making a lot of profits from unconventional trading in addition to ripping off their poor followers to feed their opulent lifestyles.

The founders of those churches have been given charitable status in the view that they would help the needy in society, albeit they have refused and still refusing to oblige. To be blunt, they prefer to rip off their poor followers to boost their bank balances.

In my view, the “one-man churches” are not charitable, thus they must be given tax codes and let us start deducting taxes which can be used to develop their communities.

Isn’t it true that some of the one-man churches owners go about bragging about their wealth? They do. So where then lies the fairness in leaving those “fat cats” from the tax net and then turn around and pursue their impoverished church members?

Unlike the orthodox churches, (Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Anglican amongst others, the one-man Churches are not charitable in any sense, so why give them tax concessions?

It is somewhat unconscionable to allow the founders of the one-man churches to go scot free and then turn around and pursue low income earners such as pepper and tomato sellers for taxes from their meagre earnings.

There is no denying or hiding the fact that the unscrupulous activities of some founders of the one-man churches are causing a lot of anguish in the lives of many discerning citizens, thus the policy makers cannot look on unconcerned.

It must, however, be emphasised that charitable organisations elsewhere are exempted from paying direct taxes and they, in turn, reciprocate by undertaking socially responsible programmes and projects.

It should also be mentioned that in most well-regulated precincts, there is a threshold in the registered charities or social enterprises tax concessions.

For example, if a charitable organisation chose to engage in a profitable activity outside its normal ambit, then profits that would be accrued from such activity become taxable.

In addition to any regulations, there should be a Charity Commission to oversee the activities of all the one-man churches and that of registered charitable organisations and other social enterprises.

We hear day in and day out on how some truth seekers are being swindled and maltreated by the same “Men of God” who claim to be leading the truth seekers to “Heaven”. Meanwhile the truth seekers are being “perished” for the lack of knowledge.

I would like to believe that God will bless the Members of Parliament for enacting laws to halt the unscrupulous activities of the ‘criminals of God’ who are using the “Bible” to swindle their unsuspecting followers for their own expansiveness.

K. Badu, UK.
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