Kenyan Man Interrupts Church Service After His Wife Uses His Almost $2,000 Loan To Pay Tithes
Legal hoodwinking
This is one of my worst nightmares, honest to God- that someone I love and trust would fall prey to one of these charlatans fleecing innocent people of their hard earned money.
God knows I saw too much of that growing up.
George Carlin, that legendary comedian, once noted how paradoxical it was that the most powerful being in the Universe, always needed money.
He’s all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can’t handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more- George Carlin
Great words, right?
I’m am trying to process the level of gullibility it requires to take a loan, that is not even yours but belongs to your husband- and submit it to a pastor for prayers to ward off evil spirits.
In fact, I don’t think gullible is the word I am looking for; stupid is more like it.
I thought tithes were supposed to be a portion of your income? And not your husband’s business loans? I’m sure Mr Preacher Man was especially anxious to get his hands on the money; the story makes it clear he doesn’t have the best of reputations.
Jesus Elevation Tabernacle. image via The Star
A man stormed a church service demanding his Sh200,000 ($1,960) loan that his wife gave as tithe for prayers against demons in Kisumu last Sunday.
Geoffrey Odhiambo said his wife gave the amount, for which a bank used his car as collateral, without his consent.
Witnesses said the woman told them she gave the money as “tithe for prayers as there were evil spirits and devils in her house”.
Lawrence Odengo said Odhiambo complained it was not the first time the woman had taken money to ‘Jesus Elevation Tabernacle’ in the Kisumu CBD.
It took male ushers more than 10 minutes to eject Odhiambo from the midday service moments before the APs Quick Response Team arrived. He reported the matter at Kisumu Central police station.
Pastor Victor Kanyari of Nairobi’s Salvation Healing Ministry was accused of obtaining money under false pretenses from church members.
He also allegedly duped people from different parts of the country to ‘plant’ a Sh310 ‘seed’ and others to send him up to Sh50,000 using mobile money transfer services.
Police said they could not arrest him over the allegations as no one had filed a complaint.
Amazingly, issues like these are not exactly exceptional. In churches the world over on Sundays, there are people planting ‘seeds’ that far exceed the income they are able to consistently generate. A lot of new age pastors emphasise how planting would get you more yields from the Lord, and it seems the poorer you are, the less God is listening to you- and subsequently the more you have to plant.
That business is what has spawned the Creflo Dollars of this world, and it is legal hoodwinking. Churches do not pay taxes, are not required to be accountable to anyone- and claim otherworldy authority that seemingly places them out of the questioning reach of us mere mortals.
But it is real people with real issues losing money to these preachers, and freedom of religion is not a sufficient excuse for exploiting people. Good luck to that man- seriously, he is going to need it.
Godwin Okine, Religious Affairs Editor
Okine Godwin Nii-Armah is a recent graduate of Ghana’s Institute of Journalism whose two loves are sports and journalism. He writes on almost any topic, but most especially on football, religion, and civil liberties. He is a co-founder of BrutallyUncensored.Com, and a secular humanist who enjoys needling his religious countrymen. He believes no idea should be free from scrutiny, and that those who claim that do so because they know they are holding bad ideas. He is most inspired by three people, Mark Twain, Christopher Hitchens, and Eminem. He believes you can do anything you set your mind to.
