Religious Hypocrisy in Ghana

In recent months, several items of historical interest have surfaced stirring a renewed national discourse on many issues including the fast depreciation of the cedi on which some men of God have expressed their thoughts. The thoughts expressed by these men of God have ignited some rift among themselves leading one to wonder if it is the same God issuing different instructions and visions to separate servants.

It is becoming almost impossible to decipher the true men of God due to the antics adopted by charlatans posing as men of God, principally owing to the mushrooming of many churches in almost every crevice of the country.

In the name of religion, residential areas no more have the serene atmosphere expected of these places of abode. Religious zealots have taken over almost any space in the country.

But the irony is that, the lifestyles and the moral standing of some of these so called men of God are staid and appalling such that not even a day or week passes by without news about a so-called man of God either swindling, sexually abusing, exploiting, attempting to murder or extorting money from their naïve followers who are so eager to find their way to the bosom of the creator.

In as much as religion is the soul of every society and by extension country, it is also high time the behavior of some so-called men of God are fine tuned to reflect the very gospel they preach about.

Religion has a core mandate to transform the lives of the marginalized and the socially handicapped by bestowing hope, understanding and drawing people closer to their maker, but contrary, we have wittingly or unwittingly raised some men of God to sainthood, making it blasphemous for any person to scrutinize their actions or criticize them even when they cross the line. Some people would immediately demand your head on the chopping board and declare you evil when one tries to criticize some so-called men of God.

Maybe the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche was right when he wrote “God is Dead and needs a replacement” because people have exploited God’s name to commit so many murderous crimes and seem to go scot free.

The Christian Bible tells us that when the rich man went to Jesus seeking for eternal life, Jesus told him to give all his possession to charity, and come and follow him, Jesus did not tell him to bring his possession to him, but what do we see today? Many religious leaders are turning into millionaires at the expense of their followers who continue to wallow in abject penury.

Excessive religious extremism is the handiwork of the plethora of the myriad of problems that are staring us in the faces such as those happening in Central African Republic and Nigeria.

The sages succinctly advice that, the right to swing one’s arms end where another person’s nose begins. As much as you have the right to religion, also remember that people also have their rights to a quiet life. A thundering deafening payer that disturbs the peace of your neighbor cannot be the righteous way because the same God require us to love our neighbours, and if you love a neighbour you would respect their rights and feelings.

Writer: Abdul-Karim Mohammed Awaf
University of Cape Coast
Abdulkarimmohammedawaf.blogspot.com