Evangelicals and Me, The Sinner
“And he said, all my enemies shall be reduced to dust, shall be quenched by fire, shall be…” That’s my new alarm. Once it is 5:30 am, you don’t need water sprinkled on your face to know that it is the dawn of another day. The CAC church near my house does it effectively. Heavy thunderbolts of curses, prayers — prayer-curses against enemies — both imaginary and real have a rare jolting effect. All I know is that those missiles are fired with the name of Jesus. What a busy time for the heavenly host!
This is the situation in Africa generally. We are very religious. It is not impossible that the same person who attends a 5 am daily prayer service might be at the herbalist’s place (Babalawo) by 5 pm to fight off the same evil. I guess it is better to fight with a sword and a gun than to rely on a sword alone. Oh! Lest I forget, the same person may be seeing a powerful Muslim cleric (alfa) by 7 pm for another round of fortification.
I am a Nigerian university student. I study in a school where the sporting center has been converted into the hottest metaphysical war zone. Different Christian denominations take their spot leaving the real sportsmen and women to manage what’s left of the facilities. There are signs in some of the areas warning prayer warriors to stay off but it seems the things of the spirit take preeminence over the warnings of mere mortal men.
You shouldn’t be surprised when you are studying in a classroom and someone gets the urge to move to the podium and preach. You should be prepared for unsolicited distractions like that. They feel the obligation to lead the wretched sinner you are to heaven’s path.
Have you ever been confronted by someone and the first statement was that: “if you die today what will happen?” I have. My reply was “my family would mourn and buy a sizeable coffin to prepare for my burial. But, that’s my fault; I would love to donate my body as a cadaver for medical research. I would also love to donate my kidney to someone desperately in need of one. Also, I’d love to donate any other part possible to save another person.” And he was stuck for words.
Many youths become rebellious during adolescents because they have been forced to church all their lives. Twitter has become a platform for faceless Nigerians to take on any religious issues. As much as it is not bad to have faith, the hurt principle should be applied. Don’t let your faith cause hurt or harm to any other person.
I remember the first time I took a ride in the BRT bus in Lagos; I could boldly see the lists of dos and don’ts. A rough sketch reads:
No smoking
No hawking
No preaching.
I guess it had to be said. We were almost having: The Church of the Molue Buses Evangelical Ministries.
Ps. Molue Buses are the popular yellow buses in Lagos, Nigeria.
P.P.s. Herbalists are what you call fetish priests. They are actually the real African religion priests.
