Archive for January, 2009
pro missions athiest??
January 15th, 2009. Published under Life in Uganda, religion, thoughts and questions. 1 Comment.
I was recently emailed this very interesting article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article5400568.ece
An athiest wrote it on his observations of aid and missions in Africa.. and comes to a conclusion that Africa needs Jesus more than they need money. Pretty cool coming from an athiest.
But… having lived there and seeing the brand of “Christianity” that is in Africa, I don’t fully agree. I obviously agree that everyone needs Jesus, but I don’t agree with the Jesus that is being preached. Most of the Christianity that is preached and brought over from the West is the prosperity gospel, telling the people that God will bless them if they give… and if they aren’t blessed with wealth than they are doing something wrong. The most commonly watched TV programs (apart from soccer of course) are televangelists asking for money. Ask any local Ugandan who has access to a TV and he’ll name off several megapastors from the US, mostly guys I’ve never even heard of. But I have seen these guys on TV there and it makes me sick… seeing a # on the bottom of the screen to call to donate money so one can be blessed by God.
I’ve heard it said that in Africa if you want to be rich you pursue one of two professions… You become a politician or a pastor. And the pastors in Uganda at least, are just as corrupt as the next person. The pastors of the two largest churches are currently in legal trouble. One of them is being investigated by the FBI for molesting a young girl while in the US this summer. The other was just arrested (for at least the third time) for stealing cars in Uganda and selling them in the Congo. This pastor heads a 40,000 member church and in the newspaper said something along the lines of, “Stealing is a sin. I’ve sinned but God forgives me. If you are sinning come to Miracle church on Sundays to get saved.” But this guy has been arrested over three times for stealing cars… I assume because of his wealth he constantly is let go.
While I ultimately agree with the author of this article, I believe the Christianity that is being brought over and being preached is wrong. The people need something to believe in, and I agree that the Christians are different/happier than the next person in Uganda… but my Jesus didn’t steal or ask the poor for money.