Vulnerability cause for gullibility?

0812-1-1-SANYANGORE GETTING THE WATERChristopher Farai Charamba Review Correspondent —
Throughout history mankind has been led to do numerous acts in the name of religion. From the Crusades to the Spanish Inquisition; the modern day Jihad and even colonialism, all these atrocities were influenced by some kind of religious agenda.

To this day, many people choose to be guided by their faith and perform acts that others would deem to be unconventional. Earlier this week our sister publication, H-Metro, reported a story of congregants who were made to drink raw sewage water by their pastor, Paul Sanyangore.

It is alleged that last Saturday while clearing ground at a church stand along Seke Road, Sanyangore’s congregants complained that they were thirsty and asked their pastor to buy them water.

Reports say that they were unable to get water at nearby tuck-shops and so the controversial preacher went and fetched water from a nearby stream, believed to be sewer contaminated before adding salt to it.

An unnamed source who spoke to H-Metro said Sanyangore prayed for the water and asked the congregants to drink it but no one was forthcoming as they had seen where the water had come from.

“People were sceptical because they had seen where the water was sourced from and so he (Sanyangore) took the initiative to drink it first and they all followed suit,” said the source.

SANYANGORE  DRINKING THE WATER

SANYANGORE DRINKING THE WATER

Sanyangore claimed that it was just a display of faith that everything is possible through the power of the Lord. He used the biblical example of Elisha who added salt to the bad water of Jericho to purify it and ensure that no one would be killed by it. Sanyangore is not the only pastor who has used unconventional methods to anoint his congregants.

In Limpopo, South Africa, Mount Zion General Assembly’s Prophet Lethebo Rabalago caused a social media storm when pictures surfaced on Facebook and Twitter of him spraying his congregants with Doom, an insect repellent. Rabalgo told eNCA in South Africa that he uses Doom insect killer to heal people from cancer, HIV or any other illness.

In another interview with TMG Digital he said, “In the book of Genesis the spirit of God was hovering over the water. (Therefore) everything here on earth belongs to God. Petrol belongs to God. Doom belongs to God.

“Some people came with injuries but we sprayed them and they were healed.”

One of the congregants, Jannet Marowa, claimed that the Doom had healed her of stomach ulcers which doctors in South Africa and Zimbabwe had failed to cure. Manufacturers of Doom, Tiger Brands, warned people against spraying it on people’s faces.

“We find this practice alarming and extremely concerning‚ and want to make it very clear that is it unsafe to spray any Doom or any aerosol onto people’s faces.

“Doom has been formulated to kill specific insects which are detailed on the cans‚ and the packaging has very clear warnings which must be adhered to.

“Using this product for purposes other than what it is intended for poses risks and is therefore dangerous,” they said in a statement.

Another controversial South African preacher, Pastor Lesego Daniel of Rabboni Centre Ministries made his congregation eat grass to be closer to God before stamping on them. Under the instruction of the pastor, congregants dropped to the floor to eat the grass at his ministry in Garankuwa, north of Pretoria.

One woman who attends his church claimed eating the grass stopped her having a sore throat, while another said it healed her after a stroke.

“Yes, we eat grass and we’re proud of it because it demonstrates that, with God’s power, we can do anything,” Rosemary Phetha told South Africa’s Times Live.

The 21-year-old law student said she had been battling a sore throat for more than a year, but it was healed after she ate the grass. Doreen Kgatle (27) said she could not walk after suffering a stroke two years ago. Soon after eating grass however, she started gaining strength and an hour later she could walk again.

Like the Doom Pastor, photos of Rabboni Centre Ministries congregants eating grass first appeared on the church’s Facebook page. Other photos on the page showed Pastor Daniel stepping on congregants as they lay strawled out on the floor and others throwing up the grass they had eaten.

Another controversial South African preacher, Prophet Penuel of End Times Disciples Ministries in Soshanguve, Pretoria, made his congregants eat parts of a snake, believing it would become chocolate. Images posted onto the church’s social media sites show Penuel dangling a live snake and dropping it into the mouths of his congregants.

“Man of God declared a snake to become a chocolate (chomp) and the congregation ate it. We have authority to change everything into anything and it will obey because of our authority,” read a post on the church’s Facebook page.

South Africa is not the only place where unconventional activities have been taking place in these modern day Pentecostal churches. In Tanzania, a clergyman reportedly gave a sermon while riding on the backs of his congregants.

Pictures that appeared on social media showed the pastor standing on the backs of two hunched congregants as he addressed the rest of the congregation.

It is alleged that the pastor told his congregants that he could not deliver his sermon while his feet touched the ground. Members of the church took turns to piggyback him and avail their backs for him to stand on.

The question out of all of this is what compels people to obey to what their pastors ask them to do and what drives these pastors to get their congregants to perform such unusual acts? Consultant psychiatrist Dr Dixon Chibanda said people are often susceptible to unhealthy suggestions when they are vulnerable.

“As human beings, when faced with numerous challenges be they economic, social, or interpersonal, we become vulnerable especially when we have no support systems. Vulnerable means one can’t take care of their family, they have HIV but can’t get ARV treatment, they are unemployed and other situations.

“These vulnerabilities lead to an emotional or psychological component. People then tend to become gullible, which means they are susceptible to unhealthy suggestions,” he said.

Dr Chibanda added that because Zimbabwe has a large Christian population, when faced with challenges many people turn to prayer for relief.

“A problem that we face in Zimbabwe is that there is an absence of alternative ways of dealing with the challenges that people face. The most viable option that people end up turning to is religion. The country has a large Christian population who when faced with a great challenge or disaster, are likely to pray. From a young age people rely on prayer. They pray when they eat, when they are with their parents, with the community, and even by themselves. Religion therefore, is a vehicle which people rely on to solve their problems.”

He said because people are vulnerable, religion becomes the problem solving option even when it shouldn’t be.

“We see a lot of patients who come in after they have been to these churches with pastors who claim they have powers to heal them.

“Some of these people stop taking their medication because they believe that they have received a miracle and are cured of the disease. I recall a case where there was an individual who suffered from epilepsy. At church they were told that it was an evil spirit and the person was prayed for and this spirit was said to have left.

The person then went home, had an epileptic fit and fell into the fire. Had they known that it was epilepsy they could have come to the hospital and received treatment for their condition.”

Dr Chibanda said the nation faces a problem in that people cannot be stopped from going to these churches because they are not forced to do so. The solution, he said, lies in educating people and giving them alternative problem solving skills.

“One way to help people is to provide them with basic information on as many platforms as possible. Zimbabwe has an advantage because we have an educated people who can analyse information when provided.

“People should know that epilepsy is not caused by an evil spirit but is a medical condition that can be treated.

“This can only happen if people have alternative basic problem solving skills. These can be taught to people at a basic care level and through community health workers,” he said.

“Communities, the media and technological platforms can be used to provide people with the support they need,” Dr Chibanda said.

“People can receive support for their problems through many different alternatives such as clinics, communities and even technological platforms.

“We can provide an application that people can log in to for support and solutions to whatever problems they are facing.

“The media is also a great tool to speak to people and teach them that they can seek alternative means of solving their problems,” he said

Dr Chibanda however, said the media was partly liable for people seeking churches as a means to solve their problems because they give these churches and pastors too much space.

“The media is currently reinforcing some of these behaviours we are seeing. They give columns and space to these pastors in the papers and on air to talk about how they can perform miracles and solve problems.

“At the end of the day there is no alternative voice from doctors or psychiatrists to also present their point of view. People then turn to the one-way avenue they have been presented with,” he said.

According to Dr Chibanda, pastors who compel their congregants to perform unusual acts are taking advantage of people’s vulnerabilities.

“Human beings are prone to take advantage of situations where people can be deceived. They do these things because they have found gullible people they can influence.

“This is not just an African problem; one such famous case is that of Jim Jones who caused hundreds of people to commit mass suicide.”

Jim Jones was an infamous American cult leader. His preaching attracted many African-Americans from the 1950s to the 1970s, mainly because he had progressive views on racial equality.

In 1977, the New West Magazine published an expose of Jim Jones and his cult. Jones chose to relocate his congregation to “The Commune” in Guyana, a socialist country in South America.

When US Congressman Leo Ryan flew to Guyana to meet with Jim Jones, Jones’s people shot and killed him. Knowing justice would soon arrive from US authorities, Jim Jones decided to go out in the most dramatic fashion possible, with mass suicide.

Over 900 members of the Peoples Temple drank poison mixed with Flavor Aid, though it is suspected some might have drunk the punch at the point of a gun.

Feedback: [email protected]

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey