Business Post Contributor
By Nneka Okumazie
There are lots of things that drew people to Christianity and churches in Africa, many of which might be natural.
The church in Africa found massive success in the late 20th century as the continent was coming of age, post-colonialism. This success led to several churches, both adherent to the Scriptures and otherwise.
Church leaders also had a lot of power, which, as it grew, established how some desired more control, leading to many systems of dominance.
Christianity expresses liberty. However, some commandments must be kept towards the ultimate goal of heaven.
These musts then stretched around many things in certain churches that were problematic, leading to keeping people in captivity.
There were true churches that made assumptions about how they thought things were to be that they later found to be erroneous, leading to corrections. Others just rode things out, making their rules and causing lots of pain.
Why do people need the church anyway? Why should Christianity continue to exist in Africa?
If people say Christianity, as a religion, is a problem, there is no way to define it as a defect of those practising it. If anything, it is something about the human nature.
Some people don’t practice Christianity anymore, but they are always on their phones. The phones may not have a structure similar to a church, but the same nature that made Christianity excel got people attached to their phones.
There are hundreds or thousands of non-Christian beliefs or ideologies that have come to dominate hearts, including political, economic, cultural, etc., where they did anything that was told to them, without question, just obeying the orders, in loyalty.
There were miracles in the New Testament, but there were stories of persecution and executions of Christians that nothing saved them. There are stories of early Christians in the Roman Empire who did not fear losing their lives rather than recant their faith.
The world is more secular and with secularity there is no bottom. New things continue to emerge, people rail, some stick with it, and after a while, society comes to accept it as normal.
There are so many things in the world now causing so many problems, that a true Christian faith, would be necessary to keep some grounded against sailing away.
Many people do not believe in the afterlife that Christianity presents, but if the thought of an afterlife keeps people from doing evil, does that not add to making the world a better place?
There is a lot of confusion in the world. There is a lot of desperation. There are also lots of vindictiveness, wickedness and lack of purpose or meaning.
Mobile phones are not the meaning of life, even though most people can never do without them now. Life is a temporal experience that should be more purposeful than mundane things.
Justice is hard in the world. Even preventing things that would make people do wrong are not as much. The things that get encouraged by people are often ones that do not care who might get hurt. Lots of things have gone backwards.
The world has advanced, and secularism is at the centre, yet the worse in many continues to ebb. There are many people under the control of what they do not understand. Many have no core, no pursuit and the things they reach always result in what next, or so this is all it is. There are so many non-Christian organizations, sometimes professional, that are run like a cult, where members must conform and the power structure is unchanging.
Assuming there is a pursuit of a few of true love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance, the world will be a better place, than what it is, with people going in any direction, mostly with trends.
Indeed, many churches have also veered off course. And that many of the things that are out there are in the church with no change. Some have been victims of the negatives of the church who may not want anything to do with Christianity again. The world is still a place with a lot of unknowns.
Many pastors may seem lofty and bring many of their natures to bear along with their leadership. But no pastor, anywhere, is the Saviour.
[1 Corinthians 11:1, Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.]
[Hebrews 12:2, Looking unto JESUS the Author and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.]
