Narratives of Faith and Non-reason

And so, the story goes:

About 27 persons in Zambia were reported dead and about 19 are said to be in critical condition after drinking a bleaching detergent, the JIK brand. How did it happen? The story and reports state that these individuals belong to a certain church in Zambia. On that fateful day, the prophet had convinced them that drinking the detergent would help in exorcising them of all the demons that have been tormenting their lives. A report claimed that about 40 people came for the ‘altar call’ for the exorcism, including two nurses and some teachers.

To say the least, this story is as shocking as it is unbelievable.  However, the incident which is believed to have happened on the 28^th of April 2019 (if we guesstimate from the time the news dropped), has been reported in a way that showed a lot of gaps. Of all the reports I listened to and the ones I read, there was no mention of the name of the church; there was no mention of the name of the so-called prophet; there was no mention of the date when the incident happened; there was no indication of whether the prophet was later arrested or not. The story, which does not need any other twist to remain sensational, has only generated the loud ‘heys!’ and ‘hahs!’ with almost no one asking questions about the reportage itself. The scanty nature of the report, and the fact that no reliable news outfit carried the news are enough to trigger an alarm button.

Could it be that this story is but a repeat of a similar incident that happened less than a year ago in South Africa, precisely in September of 2018? That time, the bizarre story was better reported. It happened at the AK Spiritual Christian Church, Makgodu, Limpopo in the North Eastern Area of South Africa, and was carried out by Prophet Rufus Phala, the same man who convinced his congregation to have a sip of Dettol (a very strong disinfectant) in 2016. I wonder what is juicy about detergents and disinfectants. I also wonder if the prophet ever tasted it before giving to his gullible followers. Anyway, both stories are similar, only that the 2018 event had more content. Also, Phala’s motive was for the show of faith and not exorcism as was the case in the 2019 story. Interestingly, the pictures that were put up in the 2019 incident are all Phala’s pictures. You might want to google that again.

But what are some of the issues that such narratives bring to mind? What lessons should we learn as people of the faith?

• The media reporting ought to do better than peddle cheap rumours. Connected to this, is the need to raise more awareness on the prevalence of fake news on the social media. Though the 2019 news might be fake, it still doesn’t minimize the fact that religion is seriously being manipulated in many places in Africa. This is mostly as a result of the poor socio-economic situations as well as the level of literacy in most countries. In all, the believers become the easy victims.
• Meanwhile, there is need to enlighten ourselves on the fact that faith does not mean the eclipse of reason. Faith goes with reasoning (fides et ratio). This is important so as to avoid being manipulated by fake prophets, pastors and priests. 
• History has shown us the danger of a de-rationalized faith, a situation where the minds of believers are remote-controlled by their charismatic leaders. One of the biggest example is the 18 November 1978 Jonestown incident in which about 918 people died in a ‘revolutionary apocalyptic suicide’ that was triggered by the religious leader Rev. Jim Jones. Another terrible example is the death of over 700 believers of the Ugandan Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God in March 2000. 

Indeed, religious or spiritual naivety is as dangerous as spiritual bankruptcy. We ought to always apply our reasoning in our approach to faith, notwithstanding the limits of our reasoning in fully understanding the being and ways of God. Perhaps, some inch of doubt is healthy for our faith system just as bile is for our digestive system. Therefore, do not cast away the Thomas Didymus that lives in you! The good thing, however, is that our ability to reason is itself a miracle from God, and so, reason is never opposed to faith.