TALK: Of tin gods, holy dictators and anointed tyrants by Dr Douglas Anele

Sometimes when I watch pastors and imams on television or listen to them on radio preaching, I cannot help but be simultaneously amused and disgusted at the braggadocio, arrogance and soap-box histrionics with which these so-called “men and women of God” deliver their sermons.

Put differently, brazen manifestations of spiritual megalomania can be found in both Christianity and Islam. But, especially in the new Pentecostal churches, noisy aggressive preaching has been taken to unprecedented levels of absurdity and banality. Every Sunday, and other days when pastors, general overseers or bishops of the new-fangled Pentecostal churches preach, there is an unmistakable air of arrogance, power and I-know-it-all attitude about them. Even those with little formal education and professional training before they “were called by God” speak confidently on matters which their untrained intellects cannot fathom.

Nigerian pastors nowadays ascribe to themselves omnipotence, and prey on the gullibility of the rich and desperation of the poor by brainwashing them with promises of divine healing and liquidation of enemies, success, and material prosperity.

As Karl Maier remarked in his book, This House Has Fallen: Nigeria in Crisis, modern-day pastors and so-called prophets practise faith healing and magic; they also interpret religious doctrines far more flexibly than does the traditional or orthodox Christianity introduced by the colonial masters in order to brainwash their congregation. Maier also succinctly described the psychological tricks some pastors routinely employ to hoodwink gullible members of their churches.

But these methods are not restricted to a few pastors, for all the popular pastors that use the media to propagate religious ideas and faith use similar psychological manipulations to deceive their “flock.”

Now, there is hardly any stupid, false or atrocious belief that a skilled demagogue using the name of God as a talisman cannot instill in people, as long as their critical faculty is dampened and impaired by hypnotism, auto-suggestion and other subtle psychological legerdemain.

An important but often neglected aspect of manipulation by the clergy is the intimidating appurtenances or paraphernalia of contemporary Christianity. These days, pastors own private jets, live in palatial mansions, drive the most expensive cars, discreetly consort with very expensive and exclusive courtesans, and build fantastic places of worship. Such despicable show of opulence which departs substantially from the ethic of humility and disdain for worldly possessions taught by Jesus (assuming that the stories in the Gospels concerning him were true) is wrongly interpreted as “blessings from God;” whereas in actual fact, the houses and cars, etc., are mostly proceeds from tithes and other donations from gullible members of the churches.

An Igbo aphorism akunaesiobiike (wealth inspires confidence), explains why all kinds of people including scoundrels and scallywags now found churches, whereas established wealthy pastors have become very pompous and condescending and see themselves as demi-gods. Most Nigerians desire instant gratification; they worship riches, fame and power. Therefore, the propensity for hero-worship is high, which explains why a lot of believers have practically handed their lives over to pastors. Specifically, thousands of worshippers must seek the opinion of their pastors before making decisions on important issues such as marriage, employment, residence, personal relationships and so on. Of course, there is nothing intrinsically wrong in seeking the opinion of a more knowledgeable and experienced person in any matter that one requires sound advice. Still, we must condemn the unquestioning acceptance of everything a pastor or prophet says concerning the lives of their church members, because irrespective of the exaggerated dubious claim of these pastors that their pronouncements are “from the lord,” all human beings are fallible.

Indeed, church leaders habitually hide their shortcomings and weaknesses under the veneer of divine inspiration and “anointing,” thereby misleading the unwary. The practice of allowing others to have unchallenged influence over our lives constitutes a dangerous manifestation of dependency syndrome, since it is a concrete demonstration of intellectual laziness and spiritual immaturity that usually leads to regrettable consequences later.

More to the point, due to the craving for quick results by Nigerians, pastors now “dispense” miracles, material prosperity, Holy Ghost fire and anointing as if they have factories that manufacture these things. In this regard, Karl Marx was partially correct when he stated that religion is the opium of the people, the cry of the oppressed under merciless conditions. But I think it is more accurate to characterise religion, especially contemporary Pentecostalism, as the opium of the gullible and the fearful, because even rich oppressors have been thoroughly brainwashed with the mumbo-jumbo of religious superstition.

Edited by Adeoyin Adetutu