Religion in Nigeria, part 2

Joel Osteen has nothing on Nigerian preachers.

For those of you not familiar with Joel Osteen, he’s a pastor in Houston who is more self-help guru than teacher of the Bible. His book titles are things like “Your Best Life Now,” “Becoming a Better You,” etc. He himself is a brand, sort of like Lady Gaga. He’s frequently associated with what is called “name it and claim it” theology.

In Nigeria just about every church has a sign that goes something like: “House of Power and Blessing Ministries, 3rd District 6th Diocese, Apostles of God Rev. John and Jane Doe, Pastors.” The focus, at least of everything that is externally visible, is on claiming blessings and realizing the earthly wealth and success that surely we must get if we just believe hard enough because God loves us. There is a super popular daily devotional called Daily Manna that was in my hotel rooms with the Gideon Bible; every day is 95% inspiration and 5% selected Bible verses that are generic and positive.

Example:
“…See John 3:8: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (NKJV). Note the words: “SO IS EVERYONE WHO IS BORN OF THE SPIRIT.” That means you are as mysterious as the wind! That means when men say, it is over with you, then will your new beginning spring forth! That means every exit from something is an entry into a better one for you. That means every loss is a gain in disguise for you! That means what others called a disappointment is an appointment with destiny concerning you. God will make you a mystery to yourself! God is ready to lift you beyond explanation, therefore get ready for gossips/critics because they would soon start talking about you! … No philosopher can philosophize how a slave boy (Joseph) became a sage (a wise man)! No mathematician can calculate how a scar is turned into a star! Your progress into destiny will defy the explanation of friends and will be a shocker to your foes! LIKE THE WIND, YOU CANNOT BE EXPLAINED! Look up to God! (FASTING CONTINUES)! …Open your mouth and declare aloud that you are a wonder, a sign and a mystery. Declare that you will make it in life and you will be celebrated. Declare that your tomorrow is a story of hope and your best days are just ahead.”

There is a Nigerian TV channel that is 24/7 big name inspirational preachers, including “Pastor Chris” who puts out Daily Manna.

My issue isn’t with what is explicit (there is a statement of how to become a Christian that is extremely simple but correct in as far as it goes) but with what is implicit: that the promises of “power” and “overcoming” and “God giving us what we need” that in the Bible are in reference to our earthly life. One need look no further than the fate of the disciples to see that this is no the case.

However, hope is a powerful thing, and these pastors frequently become very rich. Their success is seen not as hoarding wealth given for God’s ministry but as an example of what God can do for each person if you just believe harder (and give a little more)!

The emotional appeals full of spiritual warfare imagery have particular pull here because indigenous spiritualism is still very widespread. Benin City is actually a hotbed of it. There is still a head local “Oba” who is a bit like Queen Elizabeth -- most people don't strictly view him as their leader, but they still fear him to some degree and give weight to what he says.  In Lagos I went into a neighborhood where the two guards at the entrance had no guns and were in regular clothes. When I commented that it wasn’t great security my driver told me it was actually very good security because they were voodoo practitioners and that they couldn’t be killed with bullets. He really believed it, even though he had also separately said he was a Christian and talked very well about how many Nigerians claim to be Christians but don’t live it out.