The Invasion of the Funky Pastors
Church Business at War With African Culture
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
When I left Nigeria as a boy for the United States of America in search of the proverbial greener pastures, there was Christianity and there was the African Culture in Nigeria. I had grown up in both cultures. Christianity fed me with the word of God, while my African Culture made me desirably and proudly different from a white man, an Indian, Mexican, or Asian. That was many years ago in the mid1900s.
Today, when I visit my little remote African village to enjoy some of the cultural values that I have missed so much while in the western world, my brethren in the village tell me that the culture is no more. Indeed, too many Nigerian Christians are heading towards the notion that the African Culture is suddenly out of fashion. They claim that they have seen the light as they annihilate the culture. The truth is that they are grossly misinterpreting the Holy Bible. Some traditionalists are not taking this lightly, and with their “fire-for-fire” response to the Christian zealots, there is truly a war of cultures in Nigeria. I am right in the middle of it, and this is my story.
It was December 2007 when my interest in the war between Culture and Religion in Nigeria was kindled. I was visiting my remote village, Akamiri, in a town called Nnewi, which is situated in a Southeastern State of Nigeria called Anambra State. It all started when a group of Christians in the village one day decided that masquerades are evil, and must be destroyed. Naturally, another group in the village, all Christian, too, said no to the assault, and…bang, a war broke out in the village, and I was right in the middle of it. The following is my story, but it is not limited to the Akamiri saga. It is a story of Religion in the context of Culture, or should I say, Culture in the context of Religion in Nigeria. Generally, it is a story of a raging war between Christianity and Culture in contemporary Africa. There is apparently a war between Culture and Religions, especially Christianity, in various parts of the world today. I have read quite a good number of commentaries on this subject, and most of my readings emphasized misunderstanding or misconception as the cause of the war, probably because most of my readings have come from the rest of the world outside Nigeria. The authors were writing about the rest of the world, not Nigeria. They did not know anything about the ugly phenomenon called the Nigerian Factor, which makes a difference as Nigerians join the religion war. I do know about the Nigerian Factor, hence, in addition to the problem of misunderstanding and misconception among Christians around the world, my little story dwells on a third `m' word called Mischief, which is perpetrated by Nigerians in the name of God. I have a special grouse with some new-wave pastors and their zombie-like followers who have declared war against the African Culture. Historically, many commentators have referred to the global religious phenomenon as Holy War; others have also identified it as Culture War, and it has been going on since the beginning of the concept of religion. However, there is certainly a sudden surge in the intensity of the war in parts of the contemporary Africa, which is fought on two separate battlefronts. One battle is raging between Christians and the last-standing adherents of Traditional African Religions who are protecting their traditional belief system against some unacceptable foreign Christian principles. And then, there is the second battle that is internal among Christians themselves who disagree on some basic principles of Christianity. This second battle has been engendered by a new wave of born-again Christianity that is spreading like wild fire all over Africa, Nigeria in particular. The born-again wave with its potential closeness to God is great, of course, because Nigeria would be better for it. The problem, which has caused the raging war, is the extremism of some born-again Christians. Some are simply ignorant, and know not what they do, but many are willfully making mischief in the name of God for selfish reasons. Grievously, the mischievous Christians prey on their emotionally vulnerable brethren to make a living. The more successful ones do not just make a living through Christianity; nor, sir! They live in outlandish affluence like ancient Roman Emperors, all in the name of the Lord. Many pastors in Nigeria are bound to find my story offensive. They have gotten too comfortable with the undue, often sinful respect showered on them by average Nigerian Christians who follow them blindly. The women are the easiest preys. They believe that questioning anything said or done by their is tantamount to challenging the will of God Almighty. Please note that any negative comment in this story is not directed at true anointed men of God. No, sir! God forbid! It is directed at the flurry of mischievous jobseekers in today's flurry of Pentecostal Churches, who parade themselves as pastors
I do recognize that true men of God exist; the problem is that there are so few of them. The rest are a bunch of crooks, and very often their victims do follow them into socio-cultural pits without questions
I describe the new-wave pastors as “Funky Pastors,” and a Funky Pastor is a bible-toting, self-serving, slick-dressing, smooth-talking, wealth-seeking, brainwashing, blood-sucking son of Adam who preys on emotionally vulnerable believers in Christ and God. Alas, with the advent of the Invasion of Nigeria by Funky Pastors, the church, which is supposed to be the citadel of righteousness, now has its share of moral decadence like everything else in the new morally depraved Nigeria that was ushered in by a vindictive, evil “do-or-die” retired Army General called Olusegun Obasanjo, who ruled Nigeria from 1999 to 2007.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
When I left Nigeria as a boy for the USA in search of the proverbial greener pastures there was Christianity and there was the African Culture in Nigeria, both of which I had grown up in. Christianity fed me with the word of God, while my African Culture made me desirably and proudly different from a white man, an Indian, Mexican, or Asian. That was many years ago in the mid1900s.
Today when I visit my little remote African village to enjoy some of the cultural values that I have missed so much while in the western world, my brethren in the village tell me that the culture is no more. Indeed, the entire Christian community of Nigeria seems to be heading towards the notion that the African Culture is suddenly out of fashion. The people's excuse is that they have seen the light in their new wave Christianity. Some traditionalists are not taking the culture-abuse lying down, and with their “fire-for-fire” response to the Christian zealots, there is truly a war of cultures in Nigeria. I am right in the middle of it, and this is my story.
I must prepare my reader's mind for my general hardnosed criticism of Nigerian “Commercial Church” in this story. I lament that too many Christians are willfully making mischief, and a whole lot of money, all in the name of God. I am a devout Christian, and would never advertently say one bad word against Christianity, or any religion for that matter. My grouse is with the growing number of mischievous (funky) pastors, their zombie-like followers, their gross misinterpretation of the Holy Bible, and the war that they have declared against the African Culture. One might even say that my criticism is venomous, but I call it brutally frank, or frankly brutal.
About the Author
Harry Agina was born 1957 in Nigeria. He migrated to the USA in 1979, and subsequently became a naturalized American citizen. Harry has Masters Degree in Mass Communication, Bachelors Degree in Telecommunication/ Film Production, and Bachelors Degree in Theatre Cinema. He attended San Francisco Art Institute in San Francisco, California (a world-renowned film school), and Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas, USA. Harry made the National Dean's List Academic Honors two years in a row (1982 & 1983) during his undergraduate senior years at Texas Southern University. He also won the University's highest honor --The Student Humanitarian Award --in 1983. As a professional, he has received several awards of professional excellence, and commendations from various agencies, including the United States Immigration & Naturalization Service; Access Houston Television Systems; and “Worldfest Houston Annual International Film Festival.”
Harry's professional specialties include mass media campaign and documentary films. His vast experience has taken him to a good number of places around the world --the Caribbean, North & South America, Central America, Australia, Far East, Middle East, Europe, and over ten countries in Africa. If you ask Harry his most memorable experiences, he is bound to include a seven-month trip around six African countries in 1991, for a documentary film series titled “The Other Side of Africa (TOSA).” He is also proud to be the pioneer Programs & Production Consultant to Africa Independent Television (AIT), Nigeria's first Satellite Broadcast Television station.