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Charismatic Churches Kick against Proposed Law on ‘fake churches’

Michael Hagan — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 13:45:45 +0000

The Ghana Charismatic Bishops Conference has said an attempt by Members of Parliament to legislate against fake pastors and churches amounts to an attempt to control religious beliefs.

“…we do not support any idea of legislating or controlling beliefs, faiths or religious beliefs of our citizens,” the Bishops said in an official communiqué on the matter.

The Bishops said Ghanaians go to churches and prophets for solutions to the myriad of problems they face as citizens.

“The problems Ghanaians live with are in many cases not being solved in any practical manner by the authorities. When people are left with no hope they turn to their prophets and to their God for salvation for what should and could have been solved by national authorities,” the Bishops aver.

The Charismatic Bishops have instead asked Parliament to pay attention to the numerous issues that Ghanaians have been compelled to solve by prayer.

The Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference is made up of Bishops from different Christian denominations with cathedrals in every region of the country.

Some legislators last week Wednesday asked the House to consider enacting a law to clamp down on exploitative self-styled Men of God and their churches.

MP for Mfantseman, Ekow Hayford, appealed that an independent body should be set up “backed by law and devoid of politics” which would investigate and check the activities of churches.

Mr Hayford also appealed to the media to sieve the content they put out. He said media houses should be circumspect about the ‘Men of God’ they offer their platform to.

The public, he said, should “also be vigilant and cautious in identifying which religious group and churches they associate with.”

However, the communiqué by the Ghana Charismatic Bishops Conference explained that the government cannot legislate to regulate a Christian’s belief.

“It would be a glaring bias against the Christian faith and Christian churches for pastors, prophets or churches to be picked out for any such legislation. All who propose such things must know that it would only be logical, that such proposals should immediately include legislating how all other faiths in the country must be practised.

“This legislation would logically extend to include how Moslems, traditional healers, fetish priests and any other faiths are being practised in the country,” the Charismatic Bishops stated.

Already, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), the Rt. Rev Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, has also kicked against the move to prescribe regulations on activities of Churches.

According to Rt Rev Mante, when pastors or church leaders misbehave or go against the laws of the state, they should be dealt with according to the law and be treated as offenders of the law.

Read the full communiqué by the Ghana Charismatic Bishops Conference on the proposal to legislate against fake pastors and churches.

COMMUNIQUE

GHANA CHARISMATIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE

LEGISLATION TO REGULATE CHURCHES

Over the last few days, we, the Ghana Charismatic Bishops conference, have noted with concern the discussions suggesting the introduction of legislation to “control self-styled pastors, pastors and churches”. Members of Parliament have proposed coming up with a law that allows the State to clamp down on ‘abuse of congregants’ by the so-called men of God.

We, the Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference, will like to state that we do not support any idea of legislating or controlling beliefs, faiths or religious beliefs of our citizens. Our position on this discussion is informed by the following:

The Government cannot legislate to regulate a person’s Christian belief. It would be a glaring bias against the Christian faith and Christian churches for pastors, prophets or churches to be picked out for any such legislation. All who propose such things must know that it would only be logical, that such proposals should immediately include legislating how all other faiths in the country must be practiced. This legislation would logically extend to include how Moslems, traditional healers, fetish priests and any other faiths are being practiced in the country.

Ghanaians, we suggest, should be allowed and encouraged to use their good judgment when they patronize churches and prophets.

It must be acknowledged that Ghanaians are patronizing churches and prophets for solutions to the myriad of problems in our nation today. The problems Ghanaians live with are in many cases not being solved in any practical manner by the authorities. When people are left with no hope they turn to their prophets and to their God for salvation for what should and could have been solved by national authorities.

Churches and prophets who rise up in Ghana may be despised today but may grow up to become national institutions tomorrow. In recent years we have seen some “despised churches” rise up and become the centre of Christianity in the country and on the continent.

The PNDC Law 221 was promulgated to such ends with a mind to regulate the proliferation of churches. Under the PNDC law 221 every church was to produce a list of 500 members otherwise it would not be allowed to operate because it was considered too small to be genuine. Such a law (which did not succeed) against the church would have wiped out all the known charismatic churches which were just beginning at that time. Indeed, Churches which are prominent in Christianity in Ghana today were threatened by such ill placed legislation.

We will encourage Parliament to kindly, rather pay attention to the issues that Ghanaians are forced to have to solve by prayer. We suggest the parliament attend to the pressing issues in Ghana such as:
The absence of good roads across the nation and the terrible accidents which occur because of our very poor narrow roads and highways. Legislation about the poor drainage and serious flooding are of great concern to our nation today.

The decline of the quality of education in the country. Let us rather legislate about the widespread and perennial leakage of exam papers in the nation that characterize Ghanaian education today.
Let us concern ourselves with curbing the epidemic of armed robberies and murder in the country.

The government should see to the new hospitals like the Legon Hospital, that stand unused and deteriorating, the poor health care situation in the public hospitals where patients have to bring in their own private nurses to look after patients

Let us concern ourselves with legislation about the uncompleted and abandoned building and housing projects scattered all over the nation

There are also serious concerns about the spread of slums in Accra and huge rubbish dumps in the city. Laws to regulate the spread of these slums in the city would be most appreciated.

Indeed, any attempt to regulate or determine who and what is acceptable in Christianity or in the church would be considered as a declaration of hostilities between the Church of God in Ghana and the Government of Ghana. This we don’t think would be helpful for our beloved nation.
viii. May God bless our nation and make us great and strong. Thank you.

The Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference

In Genesis 41, Joseph, son of Jacob, became Prime Minister of Egypt, through his supernatural gift of interpreting dreams. By interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh, he saved the nation and the world, by revealing the will and plans of God for the King of Egypt and his people. The dreams he interpreted showed Pharaoh’s government the agricultural policies to implement to save the nation, and the world from a great famine. His directions made Egypt the leading nation at the time, with many seeking to buy from it what it had gained through prophetic revelation.

Today, God still desires to save by His prophetic words. The Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference is convinced that by the prophetic words of God, Ghana will also be directed and led into development. It has committed itself to seeking these prophetic words and visions and making them known to the government and people of Ghana. We believe that in these prophetic words the country will be saved from difficulties, and will be brought into prosperity

The Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference is made up of seasoned senior clergy, matured men and women of integrity in the ministry of Jesus Christ, and who have been consecrated as Bishops. These men and women have over the years accomplished much in leadership, people handling skills, practical achievements and hard work.

The Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference has Bishops with their seats, comprising of a cathedral, and an office block in every region of Ghana – Wa in the Upper West Region, Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, Tamale in the Northern Region, Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, Sekondi and Takoradi in the Western Region, Cape Coast in the Central Region, Koforidua in the Eastern Region, Hohoe in the Volta Region, Accra and Tema in the Greater Accra Region. There Conference is made up of 10 denominations operating in these regions.

The Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference was founded by Bishop Dag Heward Mills, whose ministry now comprises over 3,000 churches on every continent. It is chaired by Bishop Kwame Yirenkyi Ampofo. Its General Secretary is Rev. Kwasi Deh.

Contact:

Rev. Kwasi Deh

General Secretary

The Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference

Tel: +233 24 432 3782

Email: senyodeh@icloud.com

Source: myjoyonline.com

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No Need to Regulate Church Activities – Presby Moderator to Parliament

Michael Hagan — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 12:52:43 +0000

Parliament is planning to investigate, and prescribe regulations on church activities in Ghana.

This follows a directive from the Speaker, Rev Prof Aaron Michael Oquaye, to the joint committees of Youth, Sports and Culture and the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, after the House on Wednesday discussed the proliferation of churches at the expense of human rights and the use of working hours for church activities.

However, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), the Rt. Rev Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante has kicked against any move by the nation to prescribe regulations on activities of Churches.

Preaching the sermon at the commissioning service of 26 Ministerial Candidates on Sunday 2nd June 2019 at the Victory Congregation of the PCG at Fafraha in Accra, the Moderator said there are already laws to deal with pastors who are misbehaving.

He said, when pastors or church leaders misbehave or go against the laws of the state, they should be dealt with according to the law and be treated as offenders of the law and not cloud their offenses with their calling as Ministers of the gospel.

The Rt. Rev. Prof. J. O. Y. Mante, said there are laws against human right abuse and so if a minister of the Gospel abuses the right of someone the laws should work.

The Moderator called on the State to take drastic actions against charlatan pastors, who abuse people’s rights. He said any attempt by the state to regulate church activities in Ghana will not be accepted.

He cautioned Ministers of the Gospel to live lives worthy of their calling and admonished the newly commissioned ministers to exhibit a character and demeanor that reflect Christ, pursue godly and goodly prosperity as well as disciple others.

The Moderator admonished Christians to eschew the deceitful of riches, following after ungodly counsel and making the cares of this world make them lose their focus; rather, they should focus on being delighted in the Lord, trusting Him and intentional seeking to follow the Lord faithfully.

He urged them to learn to identify themselves with the practice of the Church as enshrined in the Constitution.

He told the new ministers that true Christians must show their status by portraying the character of Christ who was sinless on earth.

The Moderator cautioned the newly commissioned ministers to be mindful of their attitudes towards the community they find themselves, their neighbours and colleagues since it could either discredit or encourage others to come to know Christ.

He urged them to rely fully on the powers of the Holy Spirit and pray to God always for His direction.

Author: George Larbi

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Parliament to Decide on Regulation of Churches

Michael Hagan — Thu, 30 May 2019 05:55:48 +0000

Parliament will within the next month, investigate, and prescribe regulations on church activities in Ghana.

This follows a directive from the Speaker, Rev Prof Aaron Michael Oquaye, to the joint committees of Youth, Sports and Culture and the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, after the House on Wednesday discussed the proliferation of churches at the expense of human rights and the use of working hours for church activities.

The Speaker said the joint Committee must report back to the House in a month.

The Speaker said: “Honourable members, we live in a state, where we all know that priests keep people in camps to heal them and when they get worse, they rush them to health facilities, yet the people cannot be held accountable for malpractices, what kind of unbridled liberty can that be?

And in fact, in England and other places, if you bring a personal circumstance, the doctor or nurse is mandated by law to report the circumstances to the police and action will be taken, this is how a nation develops.

“So, we may want to think whether we should also have some of these things clearly established so that when people are rushed in, in suspicious circumstances the law will apply accordingly.

“We expect these committees to work seriously as we receive total commitment from both sides of the house on this particular matter.”

A statement by Mr Ekow Hayford, MP for Mfantsiman Constituency in the Central Region, called on the State to take drastic actions against charlatan pastors, who abuse people’s rights, provoked a discussion by the legislators on the regulation of church activities.

He also called for an independent body to manage church administration, and the discussions prompted the directive from the Speaker, who also frowned on the holding of church services during working hours.

Rev Prof Oquaye said such church activities should be limited to only Saturdays and Sundays or after the working hours of 0800 hours to 1700 hours.

He said: “It is dishonest that someone employs you and then you use the hours he pays you for, to go somewhere else; whether it’s a church or otherwise to go and worship.

“There are times to worship, Saturdays and Sundays are there, evenings are there, but definitely not working hours, otherwise we cannot develop as a people.”

In the statement, Mr Hayford appealed for an independent body, backed by law and devoid of politics to investigate and check the activities of churches, as he yearned that the Media would sieve the content they put out, and be circumspect about the ‘Men of God’ who appear on their platforms.

The Legislator cited instances of fake pastors giving out lotto numbers, sell paraphernalia at exorbitant prices among others as things that should be condemned.

The public, he cautioned, should be vigilant and cautious in identifying which religious group and churches they associate with.

Mr Ebenezer Nartey, MP for Ablekuma Central, in a contribution, was at a loss how some pastors deceived church members to buy bottles of water for up to GHC 2000, while the same people could not afford just a fraction of that money to go to the hospital.

Furthermore, noise from some churches had become a nuisance to peace and quiet especially on weekends, explaining that “they hold a lot of all-nights and you cannot sleep.”

He commended the Catholic, Presbyterian and other missions who had contributed immensely to the development of human resources through the establishment of educational institutions.

Mr Sam George, MP for Ningo Prampram, however, advised the House to tread with caution because the Constitution permitted freedom of religion.

Source: GNA

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