This is another reason why you should raise your voice in protest against Pastor Enoch Adeboye’splanned tour of the Pacific in November. We need to end witch hunting around the globe. Witch persecution ended in Europe and most parts of western world centuries ago. But this violent campaign continues in many regions of the world mainly due to the activities of some christian churches, pastors and other religious actors.. To stop witch hunting, witch hunters must be check mated and stopped. Witch finding initiatives must be nipped in the bud. Witch hunting movement must be exposed. Witchcraft claims must be challenged and critically examined. Any scheme to export witch hunting goods and services to other countries and regions must be opposed.

By protesting this evangelical tour, you will be drawing attention to a process that is likely to compound efforts to eradicate witch hunts in the Pacific region.

Witch hunt is a problem in Africa and among Africans. Witch hunt is also a cultural scourge that is ravaging many countries and communities in the Pacific region. Recently cases of witch hunting in Papua New Guinea-one of the countries Adeboye is visiting-attracted world wide outrage and condemnation. The people of Papua New Guinea and other countries in the region would not want to have another spiritual movement that will add or compound this problem. They do not need an evangelical group that will revive or re-ignite these savage beliefs and practices. The people of the Pacific region would not want any pastor or church to export or extend ‘a christian-penticostal-coated African witch hunt’ to the region. The pacific brand of sorcery is bad enough.

Witchcraft beliefs pre-date christianity in Africa, African people have been engaging in witchcraft accusations and witch findings before christian missionaries arrived the shores of the region. Christian missionaries condemned witch beliefs and practices and coerced Africans to abandoned the ‘pagan’ beliefs and embraced the christian faith. ‘Witchcraft entrepreneurship’ has been the business of witch doctors, not christian clerics and churches. But today things have changed. Witch finding is now the business of christian clerics and churches, particularly penticostal charismatic churches. Recent cases of witchcraft related abuse in the United Kingdom have been traced to the activities of African evangelical pastors and churches.

Evangelical pastors, like Enoch Adeboye, are the ‘modern day’ African witch doctors. They bind,'cleanse' and cast away the demonic spirit of witchcraft.

Many African priests and pastors have, in the quest for spiritual relevance, material wealth and prosperity, competition for members appropriated the roles of witch doctors and turned their churches into witch hunting spiritual movements. They have made witch finding and deliverance part of their spiritual business and industry.

Pastor Enoch Adeboye is a stakeholder in this business. He is one of the clerical gladiators in the imaginary warfare of witchcraft and sorcery in Africa. Adeboye is a witch believing pastor, and his church- the Redeemed Christian Church of God- is a witch delivering spiritual movement.

Adeboye devotes his sermons to denouncing the ‘witches and wizards’ in the families and communities. He organizes ministrations and gives prophecies against witchcraft and other imaginary diabolical agents threatening the lives and estate of the church members. Pastor Adeboye delivers sermons proclaiming God’s ‘superiority over all witches, occultic and diabolical agents’ in the communities.

These sermons are literally misguided and inciteful. They are evangelical propaganda crafted to poison family and social relations. Adeboye’s sermons contain gospel narratives that reinforce witchcraft mentality and enchantment in the minds of the people. The activities of Pastor Adeboye and his Redeemed Christian Church of God instil witchcraft fears and anxieties. Their evangelism nourishes witchcraft suspicions and insinuations. Adeboye’s ministry recharges witchcraft images and imaginaries, and spreads witch frenzy, panic and hysteria. His sermons drive church members to attribute their problems to evil spirits or to evil magic and machinations of ‘enemies’ within the families and communities.

Is this the brand of evangelism Pastor Adeboye wants to extend to the Pacific region? If Nigerians have allowed themselves to be manipulated and exploited by this virulent form of evangelism, does Adeboye and his church members think that other parts of the world will condone it?

The evangelical charade of the Redeemed Christian Church of God should not be taken to other countries. It has no place in an enlightened society. But those who decide- for some reasons- to take this virulent form of penticostal christianity and spiritual abracadabra to more civilized countries should be ready to face ridicule, protests or prosecution.

There are legitimate concerns over Pastor Enoch Adeboye’s proposed evangelical tour of the Pacific in November. Pastor Adeboye is expected to visit Canberra, Melbourne, New Zealand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Sydney, and Perth next month. He is scheduled to preach at these places, and inaugurate branches of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).

The tour is part of the ‘Let the Wind Blow’ spiritual event. The program is meant to ‘celebrate miracle of your life in song, prayer and praise’ (1), and get people to experience the ‘wind of salvation, healing and deliverance’ (2). But there are concerns-genuine concerns- over what appears to be an innocuous evangelical exercise.

This tour may not happen because human rights groups, religious liberals and secular organisations are rallying against it. They are mobilizing mainly because of the homophobic stance of Pastor Adeboye and his RCCG. Even if the tour goes ahead, Pastor Adeboye will be greeted with protests by those who object to his hate mongering sermons and preachings.

Many people in the Pacific do not want Adeboye to bring his gospel of gay hate and intolerance, his anti-gay church and ministry to their region. They do not want an evangelical wind that will blow and role back the gains and progress they have made in critical areas of human rights and marriage equality.

Early this year, Pastor Adeboye has, at an event organized by Joint Christian Mission at Obafemi Awolowo University, declared that ‘same sex marriage will wipe out humanity’. He was one of the Nigerian clerics that openly and publicly supported the anti-same sex marriage bill which was passed by the National Assembly. Adeboye said:

“Same-sex marriage is an anathema to the will of God for human beings to be fruitful, replenish and multiply on earth. Anything contrary to that is evil. How can a man who marries a fellow man produce a child and how can a woman who marries a fellow woman produce a child? If this evil is allowed to stay, there will not be newborns again in the world. As the older generation dies, will there be a new generations to succeed it? Even plants and animals have new generations to succeed them.”(3).

Pastor Adeboye has, in this statement, demonstrated his ignorance and bigotry. He showed his inability to use his position to preach and promote love and tolerance of persons without discrimination on the basis of sex or gender identity. Morally, he failed, at a critical stage in the legislation process, to rally support and respect for a persecuted minority.

And I ask: Is that the gospel Adeboye is going to preach and promote in New Zealand where same sex marriage is legal? How does Adeboye think the people in Australia, where homosexuality is not a crime, will receive his ‘message’?

Adeboye’s declaration is only a reflection of his church’s position on gay sex. There is at RCCG a ‘zero tolerance of homosexuality’ and the rights of gay people. RCCG is not just anti-gay, it outs any of the members who is suspected to be gay. A profile on the mission of RCCG states:

“The Redeemed Church has a zero-tolerance policy on homosexuality in its congregation, and, reportedly encourages members to report the names of fellow members who they believe could be gay. The missionary statement of the Church goes as far as to imply "homosexuality" caused the great Biblical flood. "When God was going to destroy the world in the days of Noah there was so much sin and iniquity. Pleasure, godlessness and homosexuality were the order of the day”. Adeboye and his church make it seem as if to be a 'true christian', one must be anti-gay. It is not so. Recently, South African cleric and Nobel peace laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he would rather go to hell than worship a homophobic god or go to a homophobic heaven(5). Adeboye and his church members surely need to borrow a leaf from Desmond Tutu. They need to renounce their homophobic god and turn their back on their homophobic heaven. But that has not happened yet.

Going by their missionary statement, it is safe conclude that the wind of Pastor Adeboye’s anti-gay gospel and RCCG’s faith-based homophobia will not blow in the Pacific. It will be fiercely opposed. This hateful evangelical current will be vehemently resisted. If most Nigerians have, due to fear, blind faith, gullibility, prejudice and ignorance, refused to condemn and speak out against religious homophobia and bigotry, people in the Pacific will do so.

With their anti-gay stance, Adeboye and his church are already set on a collision course with the laws and values of the people of Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific nations.

http://www.modernghana.com/news/496324/1/witch-hunting-and-adeboyes-evangelical-tour-of-the.html

The people in Austrilia work against the visit of this so called great man of God, i got the information from a very good friend, and they didnot want him

What are the gains for humanity in expansion of churches, funds gathered in churches are used in purchase of private jets and running of expensive private schools. Its easy to bind,cast and destroy non existent,imaginary witches and wizards. But powerless to confront boko haram,poverty,corruption,bad leadership e.t.c