Tuesday 26 June 2012

Prosperity Gospel night mare: What if Happy Science turns out to be more pro-poor than Uganda’s Pentecostal prosperity Gospel???? Thousands flock Happy Science lecture: Various happy science converts in Uganda report miracles and healings.


My Analysis


Healings and miracles reported in Happy Science

Last Saturday thousands of Ugandans reportedly attended Ryuho Okawa’s first happy science lecture in Africa. Pentecostal pastors have come out vehemently to declare this new religion a cult and have also called upon government to  limit freedom of expression. Despite  numerous warnings about the dangers of the false American prosperity gospel of greed, Pentecostal pastors have continued to support this false gospel.  Ryuho Okawa’s happy science gospel is also fundamentally premised on the material prosperity gospel. Happy Science Uganda has a programme on UBC TV where it aired some of the  testimonies of its converts. A muslim boy in Tororo who converted to  Happy Science gave a testimony on how Lord  El Cantare saved him from an accident by reciting prayers from the Happy Science book darma of the right mind. This young man said that all these other religions only divide people. Another old man gave a testimony of how Lord  El Cantare healed his leg- previously this man could not ride a bicycle but now he said he can ride from his village to Tororo town thanks to happy science. There you go, even in happy science they are miracles and healings. However, un like some Pentecostal pastors who charge money for prayers , I have not yet seen prayers for sale in Happy Science .

The Pentecostal movement as a burden to the poor

Many Pentecostal churches in Uganda really ridicule the poor . They are  preaching that it is very difficult for a poor man to enter heaven, contrary to what the Lord Jesus Christ taught. Pastors are telling believers that they are poor because of a poverty curse that needs to be broken. They teach believers that they are poor and are having financial problems and even marital problems because they do not tithe. The poor have started to wonder why non-of the Apostles of Jesus taught tithing and why tithing is absent from the Acts of the Apostles. Many Pentecostal pastors  ridicule the poor who come with coins in the church. Many pastors call the churches and so called cathedrals they have constructed God’s houses. If  that building or cathedral is God’s house, how comes the pastors’ house is more elegant and cleaner than the church building(God’s house)???? How comes the church where services are conducted and where God dwells is  full of dust yet the pastor’s house is full of tiles. There are pastors in Uganda who have houses that cost over 500 million Uganda shillings yet their churches are mere sharks.

Ryuho Okawa Versus Benny Hinn

Unlike Benny who charged 50 U.S $ (over 80,000 ug. Shillings ) per person for attending his conference in 2007 , Ryuho Okawa charged as follows : Sh 2,000 (Pavilion), to Sh 5,000 (Silver Pitch ) to Sh, 10,000 (VIP Gold Pitch). Ryuho Okawa did not charge even a VIP as much as 50$ . You should note that one US dollar is currently equivalent to 2500 Uganda Shillings. So, who is more pro-poor???

Ryuho Okawa teaching Versus Pentecostal Prosperity Gospel 
During the Saturday  lecture it was reported that;
‘’Speaking on a podium Okawa said that people should stop segregating others, but instead focus things and material peace that will lead them to prosperity. Okawa said that Africans need to learn how to repent, fight poverty and donate to others. “It is through giving and sharing wisdom that you will become independent,” he said. He emphasized forgiveness and self-confidence and learning how to forgive especially among Ugandans.   “All people are created as one, so you have to believe in forgiveness,” Okawa said that Happy Science’s main goal is to create Utopia on Earth through Love and Enlightenment. “To love is to give not to take from others. So, love can overcome hatred. If you take from others, you always want to take from them, but if you start giving, it creates harmony. It is a very simple way of thinking, but difficult to do. So, teaching of giving love is very important,” he said.’’, see, http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/632329-thousands-flock-happy-science-lecture.html
 

ON THE  OTHER HAND 
Some Pentecostals pastors preach revenge i.e. sending witchcraft back to the sender (abizayo), some have been caught in sodomy but have never repented, some are advocating for the killing of gays using state laws, some are telling people to sow seeds in almost every sermon etc Pastor Kayanja recently charged pastors of criminal trespass at his Rubaga miracle centre cathedral. How can a born again believer commit trespass at God’s house??? And is this love???
So, my question is who is more pro-poor?
Million dollar questions in the minds of the poor in Uganda 
1.      How comes most Japanese nationals like Ryuho Okawa are not born again Christians, yet over 80 percent of the cars driven in Uganda are from Japan. There must be a secret. These people must be having  the true key to prosperity.

2.      How comes that most of the Chinese who look like the Japanese are not born again Christians yet they are materially prosperous. A number of cheap Chinese products  are on the Ugandan market.


3.      How comes most humble Ugandans doing business are able to secure visas to china and Dubai to do trading, yet it is almost impossible for a humble Ugandan trader to secure a visa to America and Britain to buy some goods for trading. China and Dubai are not full of born again Christians like America!!!



4.      How comes America-a born again Christian nation is forcing us to allow homosexuality. What kind of God do they worship?


5.      How comes Creflo Dollar a popular American evangelist came to Uganda in 2007 to break the curse of poverty but soon after his departure, the dollar went up, there were riots in the country, food and fuel prices increased????

Summary

The prosperity gospel in the Pentecostal movement is anti-poor and many poor have started to question it. We should not be surprised when the poor go to cults such as happy science. We must preach sound doctrine and the gospel of repentance. We must love and respect the poor just like our Lord Jesus Christ. We must stop exploiting the poor and supporting the exploiters of the poor.



Thousands flock Happy Science lecture


Publish Date: Jun 25, 2012

By Henry Sekanjako                            
Thousands of Ugandans on Saturday flocked Namboole stadium to attend the first public lecture by the founder of happy science.

Master Ryuho Okawa who jetted in the country on Friday founded the movement in 1986. The congregation came as far as Northern and Eastern Uganda.

Despite some drizzling, the stadium was filled before 2.00pm.  Before his lecture that was televised live on most local televisions, local musicians entertained people who were mainly moved by happy science songs.

Musicians Chameleon, Iryn and Benon thrilled the crowd with their performance as many joined the floor to show their happiness.

Speaking on a podium Okawa said that people should stop segregating others, but instead focus things and material peace that will lead them to prosperity

Okawa said that Africans need to learn how to repent, fight poverty and donate to others. “It is through giving and sharing wisdom that you will become independent,” he said.

He emphasized forgiveness and self-confidence and learning how to forgive especially among Ugandans.   “All people are created as one, so you have to believe in forgiveness,”

Okawa said that Happy Science’s main goal is to create Utopia on Earth through Love and Enlightenment. 

 “To love is to give not to take from others. So, love can overcome hatred. If you take from others, you always want to take from them, but if you start giving, it creates harmony. It is a very simple way of thinking, but difficult to do. So, teaching of giving love is very important,” he said.

The movement was founded way back in 1986 in Japan with the aim of improving peoples’ lives.

Today it is one of the largest religious movements in Japan, and spreading across over 94 countries around the world with 11 million members (followers).

Okawa adds that the aspect of enlightenment is aimed at looking within one’s self to discover who they truly are.

“Through studying the universal wisdom, people can learn the purpose of life and can awaken to their true mission. “We believe any religious group can accept this way of thinking because we take God to be light, love, truth and faith, so he will always be around his people,” he says.
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