I woke up on Thursday morning, May 3, 2018, to be greeted with the picture above. My very good friend who sent me the picture accompanied it with a troubled complaint, “Passy, just negodu”. It was indeed a troubling picture. In the history of diatribes among Christian churches in Nigeria, never before have I seen anybody go to this extent. Never before have I witnessed any church go on the billboards to ridicule another church. Yes, we may have the Jehovah Witnesses with their normal foreign bulletins that try to argue against some core Christian doctrines like the Trinity, but I am yet to see them put their disagreements on a billboard, targeting a specific group of people in a particular church. This is a new low, indeed. I am pretty sure that many Christians would squarely disagree with this so-called pastor, identified as Chris Mordi. What were his intentions? Why would he deploy such a strategy? What are his facts? Which Scripture is he studying that led him into such calumny? This is an example of what happens when our attention is focused on gaining members instead of preaching the Word of God. I guess the so-called pastor was deliberate on fishing on safe grounds. If not, he would have targeted the Boko Haram so that members of Boko Haram and their sympathizers would flock his ‘authentic’ church.

However, his actions have caught up with him. On May 7, 2018, Michael Abimboye of the New Telegraph in a story titled, “Pastor nabbed for propagating hate speech” reported as follows:

Police in Lagos have arrested a 35-year-old pastor, Chris Mordi, of the Miracle of Fires Ministry, Langbasa, Ajah, Lagos, for allegedly propagating hate speech in the state.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Edgal Imohimi, disclosed this to newsmen, stressing that the suspect was arrested on May 5 at Ado Road, Langbasa area of Ajah in Lagos.

Edgal said that the Pastor was arrested allegedly while in possession of an inciting publication titled: “Beware of Catholic Women Organisation (CWO) and Knights of the Catholic for they are occultic.”

He said that the pastor had invited his church members for a programme where he was to make a public pronouncement on the issue before the publications were intercepted on May 5.

“This is a case of insult to religion and propagation of hate speech which contravene Sections 124 and 168 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015.

“This should be a lesson to be imbibed by all religious leaders. We must encourage and preach religious tolerance,” he said.

He said that the clergyman would be charged to court for alleged hate speech and religious intolerance.

But may I ask: Is Chris Mordi not a product of the society we have created and continuously created over time? Is he not an example of intolerance that has become our new norm whether in the religious, political or ethnic circles? Truth be told, what happens in our society is a reflection of the values and standards we have come to embrace, to celebrate and to defend. And in defending and celebrating intolerance in all its forms, it begins to grow wings and very soon gets out of hand. This situation is really sad indeed.

And what is more troubling. It took the police to get Mordi to face the consequences of his action.  I am not interested in Mordi’s fate in the hands of the law enforcement agency. On the contrary, I feel sad that our Christianity amounts to such pettiness sometimes. My intention here is to point to how the Christian community could ridicule itself in the public space if it does not learn how to live with tolerance and mutual accommodation. When we fail to live as brothers and sisters irrespective of differences and disagreements, then we would force the civil society to put us in order. The reverse becomes the case, since we fail in acting as the moral bastion of the society. Do we need the police to learn tolerance? Do we need the police to be modest in our speeches? What a scandal Christian division is! I think there is need for ecumenical education among all priests and pastors, and even for all Christians, as a way of helping us to live and promote tolerance. However, the first ecumenical education begins with the correct studying of our Scriptures, and humble learning at the feet of Jesus, who despite his divinity chose to share in our humanity (cf. Phil.2:6-7).