When Miraculous Claims Raise Eyebrows And Pose As Challenge To Journalists On Religion Beat (OPINION)

By Isaac Asabor

In the bustling landscape of Nigerian Christianity, pastors often share jaw-dropping testimonies of supernatural interventions, miraculous healings, and financial breakthroughs. While some of these stories inspire faith, others raise eyebrows and skepticism.

For instance, there was an unquestionable and yet resonating testimony shared by Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye to members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in one of his ministrations in 2013.  In his usual style of delivering motivational sermon, he narrated how he was coming from Onitsha during one of the petrol crises that occurred in the past, when he realized he needed to buy petrol, but there was no petrol in Onitsha. He decided he would try Asaba, but found out also, there was no petrol in Asaba. Continuing his journey, he hoped to buy petrol on reaching Benin, but to his disappointment also found out that there was no petrol station opened for business in Benin in Edo State. Pastor Adeboye undeterred, finally thought he would find petrol to buy at Ore in Ondo state.

To cut the story short, by the time he reached Ore, the next stop, his petrol warning light came on, indicating that he was then on reserve supply. At this point, Pastor Adeboye said God told him not to look at the petrol gauge, but to continue his journey. Following God’s instruction, he continued his journey from Ore, without looking at the fuel gauge, until he got to his residence in Surulere in Lagos.

Without recourse to sounding sanctimonious in this context, this is a very moving account of the supernatural, and the very intervention of God himself in making what seems impossible, possible.

In a similar vein, it will be recalled in this context that there was a testimony shared by a member of the Lord Chosen Church who claimed that for more than a year when she pasted the church’s sticker on her cooking gas that she never refilled the cylinder with gas.

Also, in a similar vein, it will be recalled that in 2016 when the Lord Chosen organized a crusade tagged “Enemies submitted” that there was a flurry of testimonies amidst lengthy spiritual exercise as numerous members from different parts of the country converged at the international headquarters of the church at Odofin Park Estate by Ijesha Bus Stop, along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway in Lagos with several who had defied the early morning rain, taking turns to testify to the wonder-working powers of the ‘God of Chosen’.

Some of the testimonies at the two-day event were, to the uninitiated, bizarre and unimaginable but the church authorities insisted that the God of Chosen has the capacity to do all things which may be unfathomable to the carnal-minded. It was gathered that one of the brothers testified that three armed robbers broke into his house, and ordered him to lie down in preparation to snuff life out of him and make away with his belongings. But remembering the instruction of his pastor, he declared: “I am a Chosen; Armed robber who are you?” Infuriated by the audacity, the armed robbers fired their gun three times but there was no effect. On discovering the futility of their enterprise, the robbers made effort to run away, but the brother chased them and disarmed them and according to him, he took the arms to the nearest Police Station.

Still in the same vein, the Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Abuja, Paul Enenche, recently stirred controversy when he stated that a bag of rice he had bought for his family started multiplying after his wife gave out one-tenth of it as tithe.

According to him, after giving out a portion of the rice as tithe, they continued consuming the remaining, but it kept increasing. He stated that the development scared his wife, who gave out the remaining rice in the bag.

He said, “When my wife and I got married, she was tithing food. She would remove one-tenth of the food and give it out. One day, we had rice that did not finish. The more we took out of it, the more it increased.

“She became afraid at the end and dashed out the remaining. ‘What kind of food is this that would not finish’, she exclaimed.”

Pastor Enenche added that he had been paying tithes (one-tenth of his income) since his days as a student in the university, and would continue to do it.

He stated that as a student, he was given a monthly allowance of N30, out of which he often paid tithe of N3.

Speaking further, he stated that he did not start paying tithes, because he wanted to become a pastor, but because it was a principle he read about in the Bible.

“We have been practitioners of this thing (tithes) since 1986, from the higher institution. N30 was what was given to me in a month, and N3 was my tithe. And, it has continued endlessly.

“I am telling you what I was taught. I was not doing it, because I wanted to be a pastor; I saw it in the scripture. When a man has evidence, it is not at the mercy of one who argues.”

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to say that Journalists covering religion beats in Nigeria face significant challenges when interrogating miraculous claims made by pastors.

Firstly, cultural and societal pressure often discourages critical examination of miraculous claims and religious facts and figures, especially those with large followings coupled with the fact that pastors in this part of the world wield considerable influence, and questioning their claims risks backlash from congregations and even legal threats.

Secondly, lack of resources and expertise hinders thorough investigations. Journalists may lack theological knowledge or access to experts who can verify or debunk miracles.

Thirdly, fear of blasphemy looms large, therefore, questioning miracles can be perceived as disrespecting sacred beliefs, and lastly, financial implications play a role: pastors’ prosperity gospel teachings often tie miracles to financial blessings, making investigations sensitive and potentially damaging to their revenue streams.

In fact, in a world where miraculous claims abound, journalists play a crucial role in separating fact from fiction. Their pursuit of truth and their commitment to rigorous investigation are essential for maintaining a well-informed society. However, it is unfortunate that not a few men of God, as they are popularly called with the support of their followers, label journalists covering religion beat as “unbelievers” or “faithless people” without realizing the fact that such subjective attitude towards Journalists is both unhelpful and counterproductive.

As a journalist, there is no denying the fact that there is an urgent sense of duty to dig deeper, question assumptions, and provide a balanced perspective. Without a doubt, there is an urgent call to duty for Journalists to play their roles in ensuring that gullible and poor people who are desperately searching for divine solutions to their life challenges are not misled or deceived by self-acclaimed pastors or men of God who have seemingly turned their churches to money-making business.

In fact, it is tasking and hectic covering religion beat as a Journalist as there is a strict demand to navigate the complex landscape of balancing the story, minding cultural sensitivity, objectivity, and accurate representation. In fact, balancing role for Journalists that cover religion beat is vital in fostering understanding and promoting dialogue across religious boundaries.

Without a doubt, balancing skepticism and sensitivity has been a huge challenge as Christian journalists often find themselves caught in-between skepticism and sensitivity.  In fact, the task becomes more challenging as Journalists need to critically examine miraculous claims to ensure accuracy and prevent the spread of misinformation. On the other hand, there is the need to approach the topic with respect for religious beliefs and avoid offending followers.

In fact, against the backdrop of the fact that journalism is basically a profession that is ethically driven by facts makes it more difficult in the field as lack of verifiable evidence in most of the claims been dished out from the Christendom to journalists through press releases, more often than not, makes the practice of Christian journalism extremely difficult for journalist in the field of gathering and reporting news from various denominations of churches, even as it is even more tasking when the men of God insist that their miraculous feats should be highlighted with bold headlines.

However, balancing skepticism and sensitivity has been a huge challenge in Christian journalism as Christian journalists often find themselves caught between skepticism and sensitivity. In fact, the task becomes extremely challenging as there is usually the need to critically examine miraculous claims to ensure accuracy and prevent the spread of misinformation. In a similar vein, there is also the need to approach the topic with respect for religious beliefs and avoid offending followers as earlier mentioned.