donjon:

Most religious nigerians have been blinded into seeking miracles at the expense of their intelligence!

Then the pastors become super heroes & the people become heroe worshippers!
And everybody forgets about GOD.

There is no assessment of the Nigerian churches that can ever be truer(pardon my grammer) than this,,,Our pastors have made Christianity a religion that destroys your ability to think,,,,,Meanwhile the Bible saya as a Man thinks in his heart so is he,,,,

OAM4J:

check this link (But am not sure if u need to register before the site uploads - Registration is free, requires only username and email)

http://thenewsng.com/cover-story/why-i-quit-redeemed-church/2009/11

The interview spans through 12 Pages, The link you posted contains a section of the Interview, The News magazine never publishes full stories/interviews Online.

Q: That sounds like celebrity Christianity.


A: It is. What should happen is when they mention the Redeemed Christian Church of God, you should think of a people that believe in what God has given as a vision to that place and are willing to defend it with their lives. We have many churches, but a negligible amount of righteousness in our land. The recent banking crisis revealed that some prominent Christians were among those who caused it.
And so you wonder what is the benefit of holiness, of sanctification and righteousness. We are supposed to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.
Why would this happen? Because pastors don’t even care where their people get the money. Just bring it and let life continue. How many pastors ask for the source of the money followers give? Most of these treasury looters and robbers sit in the front row of our churches and donate the largest amounts and pastors don’t care. They’ll even be praying for them like some people pray for armed robbers. That’s why I said the church has become a theatre: a place where people come to amuse themselves. Because they don’t know that the church is a war zone, where soldiers of the cross are trained. It’s where the standard of discipleship is raised; where you become an agent for change in a nation. I’m not talking of rascality. I’m not saying let’s go on the streets and be displaying rascality. I’m talking of constructive engagement and constructive dismantling of the oppressive forces over our nation. It is not only about praying, but having a head-on collision with them and calling a spade a spade. If that’s the role the church had been playing in Nigeria, we wouldn’t be in this mess. But we’ll rather take them to a side and tell them to come to a particular location once a week or once a month to get special prayer and lay empty hands on empty heads. That’s not Christ, that’s not church.


The once-a-month special prayer you mentioned brings to memory your criticism of the Lekki 98 programme of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.  You’ve also criticised the yearly Shiloh programme organised by Bishop Oyedepo’s Winners’ Chapel.


How did I criticise that? You have to remind me because[i] I will not even dignify that (Shiloh) by a comment[/i]. I’m not criticising them. For the Redeemed Church, the theme was the visitation of God or something to that effect; so that you don’t miss the day of your visitation.
And I said this is how you know if people are backward. Is He visiting us now or does He want habitation after He had died and He has risen from the dead and He’s now in heaven and the Holy Ghost is here? It’s no longer time of visitation that you might be built up a habitation of God. A visitor is different from one who is inhabiting. Because He’s a visitor, He comes and goes. That’s why people don’t have His presence to carry Him in their hearts. It’s not an empty criticism, it’s just that you know how we as a people are. That’s all.

I am not a fan of T. Bakare, but I admits he has the knack of making true statements regardless of who the personalities are. People may attack him for one thing or the other. But let us look at his claim on merit. Sadly most people concerned will want to use T. Bakare's radical past to brush aside the weighty allegation.

It is time Nigerians stop enriching some crooks in the name of religion.

I wonder when the certain NLders are going to come and say that God will strike Bakare dead because he is talking bad about a "man of god" hehehe===


and the saga continues--------

Still waiting to read more**

I have always loved that man. Some So called Celebrity Men of God need to publicly repent so they can go to heaven. If your name has been linked to so many scandals and exposed, then God is asking u to repent

clear and present danger to the pentirascals, clearly a stinker, eyes are getting open, thank you bakare.

Why did you allow occultic books to be sold in your church ?


I said occultic books? Impossible. He said there were two books that people bought and had been complaining about. One is written by one David Oyedepo, the other by his wife. And they were on communion and oil. I asked what was wrong about communion. I said it’s one of the things that Jesus left for the saints and that oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. He said I had not read the book. I asked him to send me the relevant pages of the books by fax or by e-mail. I thought it could be some people doing mischief. I believed the mistakes must have been made by those who edited the books. That was my thought. These are men we pray together. We didn’t get born-again because we wanted money. I didn’t come into ministry because I wanted money. God blessed me before I came into the ministry. So, the pages were sent to me. I said no, this cannot be. When I read the one that says oil is not the symbol of the Holy Spirit, but the life of God in the bottle, I said this cannot be. I also read the portion that says you can take communion and fly like a bird. I said wait a minute, this is extending truth beyond its limits. So, on my next visit to Nigeria, I requested for the books to match them with the copies I had so I could be sure that nobody was playing a cruel joke on me. Immediately I saw it, the first thing I did was to call Oyedepo. They said he was not available, but that his wife was available. I asked to speak with the wife on the phone. And they said oh, she just stepped out.
I said no problem. In handwritten form, I sent him a fax. Those were not the days you leave messages for people. Phones were not common. So, I sent a fax saying I thought those editing his books were adding garbage in them.  I said we needed to meet. There was no response. There is a pastor in his organisation, his name is now Dr. Robert Johnson. We called him Abdullahi. That was his name. He came here. I spoke into two tapes to do a critique and I gave to Abdullahi, who is now Dr. Johnson. He has left his organisation now. I said ‘could you give this to him so that we can meet to talk’. And response came to me that he said these were revelations given to him by God, as God gave revelation to Paul. At that point, I took a step further. I was in America and I was in the house of Wale Oke.
I’m mentioning names because if you want to lie, you don’t have anyone to mention. I said Wale Oke, this is what I’ve seen. Wale Oke and I were in the university together. He said he had also seen it. He said he had gone to him but this was the response. I said if he is teaching heresy to his people, it doesn’t matter to me. But the moment he put it in print form, on radio or television, he is poisoning the public water. Some of us will have to rise up. So, I started a series called the Synagogue of Satan. And I began to deal with those issues, bringing truth.
Because you don’t just shout that piece of stick is crooked. Lay the stick on its side, all eyes will see it. That was what began. And Bishop Mike Okonkwo now met me in Ghana and said don’t let us wash our dirty linen in public. I asked what he had done about it. He said he had gone to Oyedepo, who insisted that it was the revelation that he received from God. I said Mike, if you see me on top of my secretary, not my wife, and I said I’ve just got a revelation from God, will you leave me to die in sin?
When it got hot, he began to curse and swear that my television ministry will go off-air in Nigeria; that I will not have money. There was no curse he didn’t place. Whether that’s the truth or not, time will tell.
Why do I mention names? I’m not doing to so to be a critic. I have a clear agenda and I have a clear mind. If you teach and say to your wife that while you are eating, your wife should not eat and sit down, it’s your home. But don’t extend it to me and raise my children that way. Then you’re looking for trouble. If you teach your people error and they believe in it, it’s between you and them.
But don’t put it in the public arena. I have responsibility over those that look up to me, over those that I pastor and over those that benefit from knowing the truth. It is going to create conflict. There is only one faith, one Lord, one baptism, one God, father of all, who is in you all, through you all. When I was a Muslim, on Juma’at day, when they said Allah U Akbar, we all bowed. You don’t know who is Ansar-Ud-Deen or Nawar-Ud-Deen or Islamiyat. But here we are talking one Christ and seven different ideologies about one thing. So, we must know what is the truth. That is our passion; that is the reason to warn people that these are the apostates and they are only interested in the gospel of wealth.

Wow this interview is getting juicier, i am going out now to get my own copy of the news magazine.

Q: Why are you saying Oyedepo’s Shiloh does not merit a comment?


A: I’m not dignifying it with a comment because there’s no difference between him or whoever is perpetrating the things they are doing and the man they’re trying to crucify called T.B Joshua. What’s the difference in their practices? Very little. The Christianity of chattels, of oil, of mantle, of washing of feet? Where are those things? They should show it to me in the Bible. And I can tell you where it is from. ‘Is any among you sick, let him call for the elders of the church.’ Do you know it was written to Jews in Diaspora. Besides that, ‘is any among you sick, having called the elders of the church, let them anoint the sick with oil and pray over the sick.’ You want me to read it?

KunleOshob:

Wow this interview is getting juicier, i am going out now to get my own copy of the news magazine.

exactly what they want you to do---- and they're doing a good job aren't they.

I'll stop short of calling these 'men of God' names but all these bitchassness isn't going to help the propagation of Christianity.

i have always hated Bakere until 2003 when i listened to his message "arrows shot into the future", and that changed my mentality about his personality. I must admit that i still dont usually agree with all he says/does, but he is the only preacher that i agree with more than 80% of wat he say/does.
This interview further confirms that to me!!!

Q: That’s the impression people have.


A: Well, anybody who criticises others just for criticising sake is sick because the critical spirit itself is evidence of false ministry. I’m not a town crier. In the course of life, Oyedepo and I had been in the same hotel suite–he and his wife in one room, myself and my wife in another. We were meeting and praying until during the Gulf War, I said you’re departing from the faith; you’re bringing in substitutes. This is not Christianity that we received and some people must rise in the defence of the Gospel and contend for the faith that was once given to the saints. That’s what the Bible says. It says contend, fight for it. Because they’re one generation away from paganism. The pre-conversion disposition of these people from ‘Aladura’ churches and those who were raised in such environments have now being carried in so that people now go to work with mantle in their pocket and they take photographs to hit the mantle. I know how many converts from them have left because they are now seeing the truth. These are my friends, we took sweet counsel together. Let God be God and let every man be a man whether I’m a critical person that has no brain or just pulling down every man’s house. How can you pull other people’s house down and yours will stand if that is the agenda? But let me read this to you because I want to first and foremost show you something. ‘James, a born servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes, which are scattered abroad.’ Are you part of the twelve tribes?

Makes for a good Sunday reading.

*******Grabs popcorn, and a bottle of coke, _subscribing****

*****More excerpts please****

Hmm, Does anyone think that someone could attempt to assassinate this man?

bibiking1:

Hmm, Does anyone think that someone could attempt to assassinate this man?

nah i doubt anyone would be that crazy. i hope.

Nice way to chill out on Sunday nite. Where is Jakumo?

I have always said that the only pastor I respect in Nigeria apart from Pastro Kumuyi is Tunde Bakare,,,,U don't even have to be a Christian or a pastor to fault what many of these pastors are doing,,,its just simple reason and logic without quoting the scripture,,,U would just fault their activities,,,everything they do is human knowledge and that is why you would find people like Tudor,Huxely etc to logically criticize their activities,,,
Everything Tunde Bakare has said on this interview has been said by our NL Pastor Kunleosho,,,,but people called him names because he is not a known manipulative pastor.Some body should tell me,,,how can anybody convince you God is in the bottle or U carry God in a bottle,,,therefore, what then is having faith in God,,,The Bible defined faith as this:
"The substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen" if faith in God is not seen physically why would any pastor, Bishop tell me I can feel God or carry God in a bottle and I would believe?,,,this simply is the height of brainwashing and worshipping God of men instead of worshipping God,,

The way of God are not the way of men.

Q: No.


A: Okay. It’s because it’s their culture. You see it in Mark Chapter 6 that they were the ones that took oil. It’s part of their culture because they lived in open space and if you rub yourself with oil, mosquitoes and things like that would not bite you. That’s the medicine they had in their day. Now, in Chapter 5, the Bible says: ‘Is anyone among you suffering, let him pray; is anyone cheerful, let him sing Psalms. Is anyone among you sick (from verse 13), let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.’ Now, would that heal him? Let’s read further. ‘And the prayer of faith will save (not heal) the sick.’ It’s like a wounded soldier that is taken from the firing range.
That prayer of faith would stop the attack that is coming, but only one thing will heal him. Not the oil, not just the prayer of faith. ‘The prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, makes available tremendous power of God.’ Now, are all the people that you give oil to carry about elders? The truth is you sell the oil to them. At the point that I really got beside myself, so to say, was when Oyedepo said that the anointing oil is not the symbol of the Holy Spirit, but the life of God in the bottle. I tore the book openly that this is heresy, this is error, this is taking advantage of people. And after that we met; we met abroad and Oyedepo said: ‘Look, what I didn’t like, really, was my book that you tore.” I said David, I didn’t tear your book. I bought it; it is mine. You wrote it. I tore the book I bought because it contained an error.
If the Holy Spirit is oil, then Jesus is a Lamb of God on four legs. He was never human. These are metaphors and symbols until the real thing would come. You don’t get the substance and pursue shadow. The Holy Spirit has come in person and He is dwelling with us today. Tell people to live right, to eat right and to drink clean water. Tell them to take advantage of medicine when it is necessary. Jesus said they that are whole have no need of  a physician, but they that are sick. Here I am, and you can ask him also and all these men who will tell you fast and pray, if they don’t use vitamins, eat good food and live in clean environments. Why are you fooling people that all things are in prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer, prayer. I pray, I believe in God and I believe in miracles. I’ve seen miracles happen. But I will not take advantage of a person.

Na waoo.

This is getting interesting.
See 'Men of God' arguing over the correct interpretation of a bible phrase.

I hope people will now learn to study the bible for themselves and not what 'Daddy' told them.

- - -

Q: What was Oyedepo’s reaction when you made your observations known to him about this perceived heresy? Was there a debate of some sort?


A: No, I will tell you how it happened. I really do not want to be dragged into this because it’s in the past. But for the benefit of the public, I will tell you what happened. Between 1994-1996, I was not physically present on a daily basis in Nigeria. I was in England. I was travelling with my mentor, Dr. Lester Sumral of blessed memory now. Sumral and I were travelling, to Europe and the rest of the world to do mission work. And in 1996, to be precise, I organised a global mission conference here, when we brought all missionaries on the West African coast to nurture, encourage and strengthen them so that they could re-equip and have materials to go back to the field. They were not necessarily Nigerians. Many of them were from abroad, many from West Africa. Oyedepo, being my friend, sent his books here and the books were being sold in our bookshop. This is how I got to know this. And God is witness, and he knows too. The missionaries bought some of the books. The day they brought the books to me, I just told the bookshop to take them and pay whatever it had to pay and then, the bookshop could sell them.

I once asked an old woman to tell me the right church but she said, my son every time u wakeup just say GOD show me d right way to follow.

whatever![color=#990000][/color]

I agree with number eight. I do not endorse sleeping in church. wetin!