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Breaking Ancestral Curses, Pentecostal Profiteering And Crisis In Christian Communities

Published

3 years ago

February 8, 2021

NewTimes

Africans, Apologize To Family Members For Witchcraft Accusations, Witch Persecution. - AfAW

Leo Igwe

Pentecostal Christianity is sweeping across parts of Christian Africa, leaving so much wreck and havoc in its wake. Incidentally, very little has been said about this wave of destruction and abuse. Look, Pentecostal Christianity has become an ill wind in many places and communities. It has inspired activities that continue to undermine human and environmental good. A key pentecostal theme and preoccupation is family deliverance. The underlying belief is that many families are jinxed, and a special prayer is needed to liberate them from the occupying forces of ancestral demons. Families are institutions of support, solidarity, and trust. In situations where state institutions are weak and ineffective, and social welfare is virtually non-existent, families are the last resort, the last line of defence, care, and protection. Incidentally, Pentecostal Christianity designates the family as spiritually sick, contaminated, and in need of healing and cleansing. Pentecostal pastors claim to have the power to dispel these family-specific evil forces.

Families that are under ancestral curses are believed to be ill lucked. They are said to be under demonic influences that were inherited from the past. Ancestral curses run in the blood of family members; they are passed from one generation to another. Many Christian evangelists have taken it as their calling and ministry to cleanse families of this evil smear, to break these ancestral curses. Christian evangelists have made people believe that ancestral curses hamper the health, progress, and well-being of families and communities. And that is where the problem lies. Over the years, people have bought into this narrative. Many Christians have been brainwashed to believe that their personal and family difficulties are due to ancestral jinx. Family members seek out these ‘powerful’ men and women of God; they pay them to conduct family deliverance and break this generational curse.

These evangelists operate as individual curse-breakers or as a team of prayer warriors. Family deliverance has become a huge business enterprise, and a major source of income for pentecostal pastors, churches, and ministries. Family and community members contribute huge sums of money to get pentecostal pastors and charismatic priests to come and break family and generational curses. Depending on the caliber of the evangelist or ministry, people pay up to a hundred thousand naira (220 dollars) for deliverance, and hundreds of thousands to hire prayer warriors. Celebrity pastors and prayer ministries charge much more.

Family deliverance is usually conducted at the various homesteads or community centers. The evangelists or prayers warriors meet at family compounds or public squares, where they organize prayers, binding and casting away all demons, principalities and powers. In some cases, family or community members are told to fast and spiritually prime the family and community for the event. During the prayers, the lead evangelist and other ‘spirit-led’ persons go into a trance; they see ‘visions’ and identify persons or things that embody ancestral and generational curses. They call out elderly persons or any other suspected agents of the devil in the family or community. They indulge in exorcizing trees and forests/wildlife, and sometimes they rename rivers and streams that evil forces use as their operational bases. Any forests or trees that the evangelist or prayer warriors identify as evil or as bearers and abodes of ancestral curses are cut down and burnt. Family deliverance is a form of witch-hunting. Human bearers of ancestral curses are exposed, spiritually disabled, and neutralized. In some cases, these evil incarnates are tortured or killed to break the generational link. All these rituals are believed to remove or are capable of removing the spiritual obstacles to progress and development in the families and communities. But does a deliverance ‘open doors’, free families and communities from real or imagined ancestral curses as widely believed? Not at all.

Ancestral curses are forms of superstition, pentecostal fad, and mumbo jumbo. They have no basis in reason, science, or reality. Socio-economic difficulties and challenges that people suffer in families and communities have no link to any ancestral or generational curse that pentecostal minded Christians imagine. Poverty, unemployment, diseases, accidents, and sudden deaths are due to misgovernance and lack of effective policies and infrastructure, not any jinx that is inherited from the past.

Breaking family curses is an act of foolery that charlatans promote and perpetuate among gullible folks. It is a device for the exploitation and abuse of the suffering masses, a mechanism for the extortion and dispossession of poor and ignorant persons. Breaking family curses provides a pretext to scapegoat vulnerable members of the population, make nonsense of misfortune and destroy the environment.

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In Shakeup Of FCT Administration, Wike Sacks Agencies, Parastatals Heads

Published

5 hours ago

September 28, 2023

NewTimes

BREAKING: Wike Dares Ayu To Stop Elections Of Ortom, Others

Federal Capital Territory Minister Nysom Wike

In a decisive shakeup of the administration of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), its Minister Nyesom Wike, has sacked the heads of 21 parastatals, agencies, and government companies.

This was disclosed in a statement by the Director of Press, Office of the Minister, Anthony Ogunleye, in Abuja on Wednesday.

Ogunleye identified the affected heads of the agencies as follows:

1. Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Abuja Investment Company Ltd

2. CEO/Managing Director, Abuja Markets Management Ltd

3. MD/CEO, Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company

4. CEO/MD, Abuja Property Development Company

5. CEO/MD, Abuja Technology Village Free Trade Zone Company

6. CEO/MD, Abuja Film Village International

7. CEO/MD, Powernoth AICL Equipment Leasing Company Ltd

8. MD, Abuja Broadcasting Corporation

9. MD, Abuja Enterprise Agency

10. General Manager, FCT Water Board

11. Director-General, FCT Emergency Management Agency

12. Executive Secretary, FCT Primary Healthcare Board

13. DG, Hospital Management Board

14. Director, Abuja Environmental Protection Board

15. Director, FCT Scholarship Board

16. Director, FCT Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board

17. Director, Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board

18. Coordinator, Abuja Infrastructure Investment Center

19. Director, FCT Health Insurance Scheme

20. Coordinator, Satellite Towns Development Department

21. Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council

The director of the press said that the affected appointees should hand over the affairs of their offices to the most senior officers in rank.

He added that appointments in the offices would be made in due course.

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Abiodun Urges Prayer For Nigeria At Eid-El Maulud

Published

18 hours ago

September 27, 2023

NewTimes

Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun

Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, has urged Muslims across the country to offer prayers for the peace and prosperity of Nigeria on the occasion of Eid-El Maulud.

In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Lekan Adeniran, the Governor emphasized the need for Nigerians to come together and pray for the country’s progress, unity and development.

Governor Abiodun also called on Muslims to emulate the virtues of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), which include love, tolerance, peace, and humility.

He urged Muslims to use the occasion of Eid-El Maulud to reflect on the teachings of the Prophet and strive to live a life of righteousness and selflessness.

The Governor expressed his commitment to providing good and effective governance to the people of Ogun State as he called on Muslims to continue to support his administration and pray for its success.

Eid-ElMaulud is a Muslim holiday that commemorates the birth of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). It is celebrated with prayers, fasting, feasting, and acts of charity and generosity.

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You Are A Shining Light In Christendom, Abiodun Tells Oyedepo At 69

Published

18 hours ago

September 27, 2023

NewTimes

Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun

Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun has described the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, as a shining light in Christendom.

He described the bishop as a great man of God and an educationist worth emulating.

Abiodun stated this in his goodwill message to mark Bishop Oyedepo’s 69th birthday.

The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Lekan Adeniran, praised Bishop Oyedepo’s commitment to God, saying he daily motivates his congregation and the larger society to live a purposeful life in accordance with God’s plan.

“Your teachings have transformed the lives of many and have shaped the destiny of our nation.

“As a preacher, you exemplify excellence and have been a source of inspiration to many. Your commitment to the spread of the gospel has not only brought salvation to countless souls, but it has also helped shape the moral fabric of our society,” Abiodun said.

He said that through his involvement in the education sector, the man of God has succeeded in producing many scientists, bankers, lawyers, administrators, among others, adding that one of his universities has consistently been ranked among the best in Africa.

The governor also commended Bishop Oyedepo’s humanitarian efforts, particularly through the David Oyedepo Foundation, which provides scholarships, medical and entrepreneurial support to thousands of people.

“I am grateful for your contributions to the development of Ogun State, particularly in the area of education. Your investment in Covenant University and other educational institutions in the state have greatly impacted the lives of our youth and have helped to raise the standard of education in the state,” Abiodun said.

He prayed that God will continue to bless Bishop Oyedepo with good health, wisdom, and divine guidance as he continues to impact lives and fulfil his divine mandate.

Abiodun prayed for God’s continued blessings and guidance upon the bishop, as well as for more years of impactful service to humanity.

“Once again, I wish you a happy 69th birthday, and I pray that God will grant you many more years in good health,” Abiodun concluded.

Bishop David Oyedepo, who is also the Chancellor of Covenant University and Landmark University, was born on September 27, 1954, in Omu Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria.

He founded the Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners’ Chapel, which has grown to become one of the largest Christian denominations in Nigeria and the world at large.