|
|
| ACTUALITE |
26.04.2007
How has Christianity changed? Nigerian pastors spread into Cameroon
As people flock to celebrate Easter and considering the rise of the so-called super churches in Africa, has Christian faith changed?
A majority of Africans put religion above any other self-defining factor. Millions belong to Pentecostal and Evangelical movements, the fastest-growing strand in the Christian faith.
These super churches emphasise faith through fever-pitch gatherings, spiritual rebirth and using the power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives. They also use broadcasting, the internet and 24-hour telephone lines..
However critics say that the movements are based on shaky theology and are used to enrich pastors through their so-called prosperity gospel which encourages followers to pay tithes they can´t afford.
=========================
Authorities in Cameroon are seeking to control the surging numbers of Pentecostal churches in the country being set up by Nigerian pastors crossing over the border.
Distinguishable by the loud music which emanates during services, the churches are found in the most densely-populated areas.
With names like Christ Chapel International, Witness Chapel, and Redeemed Churches Of Cameroon, they are growing massively.
But concerned officials in the South West Cameroon governor´s office, together with police, have stepped in and begun closing down some of the churches - even though Cameroon is a secular state with freedom of worship.
Christopher Ambe, a local journalist in the south-western town of Buea, said that the majority of the churches had not been legally registered.
"Some of them had a very noisy way of worship - using loudspeakers to preach," he told BBC World Service´s Reporting Religion programme.
"They are disturbing what Cameroonians would refer to as the quiet enjoyment of others."
Test of spirit
Nigerian Victor Praise, a senior pastor of the Houses Of Truth Assembly, said he has been worried by the government campaign.
"What I did was find out what they want from us, and do it," he said.
"They said that if the church was not registered, it would be closed down."
Cameroon´s Catholic leaders have warned of the ´lure´ of Pentecostal churches
He explained that most Pentecostal churches are run by Nigerian pastors who have "a vision of what they want to achieve in Cameroon."
And he explained that while some of the pastors are charlatans looking to make money, this is not the case with all of them.
"Many people are out to make money, actually," he said.
"But it is a test of the spirit. God sends those people there, testing the pastors to know whether these people are out to make money or not.
"I do not minister for money. I minister to impact on the lives of people."
Healing
No representative of the Cameroon government was willing to talk to the BBC about the Pentecostal churches.
But Professor Alan Anderson, from the Pentecostal Global Studies Department at Birmingham University, said that the Cameroon government has a history of a "hands-on approach" to social issues - including churches.
"It has tended to be that new churches are seen as intruders - particularly when they start proliferating," he said, adding that "part of the ethos of Pentecostalism is to spread as far as you can."
"There are also limited leadership opportunities in Nigeria now, so many Nigerians see neighbouring countries as a possible place to start churches - and thereby make an income as well," he explained.
Tharibi Joseph Mbe, a former worshipper at a Pentecostal church in Mamfe who has since gone back to the main Presbyterian church, explained the attraction of the new churches.
"Some of these churches attract so many people because they promise some many things," he said.
"One is healing. Another is providing riches to so many people - especially in Cameroon, where very many people live in poverty and are affected by disease - when they hear such messages, they decide to go there.
"But when they reach those places and don´t find a solution to those problems, they leave."
|
|
|
International Women´s Day 2011 (Sister Nyangon is honoured)
( | 11.03.2011 | 16395 hits | 0 R)
|
Race and Arab Nationalism in Libya by Glen Ford
( | 11.03.2011 | 15465 hits | 0 R)
|
Henriette Ekwè (Nyangon) primée aux Etats-Unis
( | 02.03.2011 | 15854 hits | 0 R)
|
Livre: COMMENT L´AFRIQUE EN EST ARRIVEE LA, par Axelle Kabou
( | 26.02.2011 | 14668 hits | 0 R)
|
Côte d´Ivoire - Le Panel de l´Union africaine propose de revenir aux Accords jamais respectés de Ouagadougou
( | 24.02.2011 | 14992 hits | 0 R)
|
Regards: La Grammaire de la Révolte
( | 14.02.2011 | 16810 hits | 0 R)
|
MISS NGONDO 2010: Ekambi Lobe
( | 12.02.2011 | 20271 hits | 0 R)
|
FOMARIC 2011: Hommage à Nkotti François
( | 09.02.2011 | 17130 hits | 0 R)
|
SCHISME DE 1814, MYTHE OU REALITE
( | 01.02.2011 | 17565 hits | 1 R)
|
CES ROIS DES BERGES DU WOURI
( | 01.02.2011 | 17748 hits | 1 R)
|
Who loves to hate Haiti? An interview with Haitian Activist Pierre Labossiere
( | 28.01.2011 | 15749 hits | 0 R)
|
COTE D´IVOIRE : L´EX REBELLE AB ACCUSE ! OUATTARA, SORO DANS LE COLLIMATEUR !
( | 13.01.2011 | 18663 hits | 2 R)
|
Kamerun: Une guerre cachée aux origines de la Françafrique (1948-1971)
( | 11.01.2011 | 17172 hits | 0 R)
|
L´imposture des Nations unies en Haïti et en Côte d´Ivoire
( | 09.01.2011 | 17761 hits | 1 R)
|
Et de quatre pour Samuel Eto’o Fils
( | 21.12.2010 | 16141 hits | 0 R)
|
Regards (sur la crise ivoirienne): En attendant le vote des bêtes sauvages...
( | 21.12.2010 | 14753 hits | 0 R)
|
Cote d´Ivoire: Face à l´impérialisme, l´avenir de l´Afrique se joue à Abidjan
( | 10.12.2010 | 15137 hits | 0 R)
|
Situation en Côte d´Ivoire: Déclaration et Appel du Bureau du Comité Directeur de l’UPC
( | 08.12.2010 | 19731 hits | 1 R)
|
Afrique, Colonisation: Invasion programmée de la Côte-d´Ivoire, par Aimé M. Moussy
( | 07.12.2010 | 14100 hits | 0 R)
|
Race as Biology is Fiction, Racism as a Social Problem is Real
( | 05.12.2010 | 13251 hits | 0 R)
|
Lettre ouverte au FESMAN III - par Rhode Bath-Schéba Makoumbou
( | 04.12.2010 | 18392 hits | 0 R)
|
Que sont devenues les anciennes Miss Ngondo ?
( | 04.12.2010 | 20640 hits | 0 R)
|
Le Ngondo, les sawa, l’Indépendance et la Réunification
( | 01.12.2010 | 18977 hits | 0 R)
|
PETIT-PAYS victime d’un coup monté. Un mandat d’arrêt contre Petit-Pays
( | 01.12.2010 | 18178 hits | 0 R)
|
L´HISTOIRE DU KABA -NGONDO
( | 01.12.2010 | 17233 hits | 0 R)
|
Le cinéaste Dikonguè Pipa - Les héros nationalistes honorés
( | 23.11.2010 | 14427 hits | 0 R)
|
Ngondo 2010: Foire, animations et gastronomie
( | 22.11.2010 | 20742 hits | 0 R)
|
la troisième édition du Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres
( | 04.11.2010 | 13892 hits | 0 R)
|
ACHILLE MBEMBE: POUR L´ABOLITION DES FRONTIÈRES HÉRITÉES DE LA COLONISATION
( | 03.11.2010 | 16081 hits | 0 R)
|
Gregory Isaacs, Jamaican reggae artist, dies at age 59
( | 30.10.2010 | 17101 hits | 1 R)
|
Calliste Ebenye: Le restaurant Sawa Village devient Mboa´su
( | 21.10.2010 | 17391 hits | 0 R)
|
Manu Dibango - Jean Serge Essous, qui était le maître ?
( | 15.10.2010 | 15987 hits | 0 R)
|
Thomas Eyoum ´a Ntoh: La longue agonie d´un chevalier de la plume
( | 16.09.2010 | 15907 hits | 0 R)
|
Charles Onana: L’Afrique centrale pourrait connaître le scénario rwandais
( | 16.09.2010 | 14740 hits | 0 R)
|
Hommage à Um Nyobé, 52 ans après !
( | 14.09.2010 | 16863 hits | 1 R)
|
Les migraines de la diaspora !
( | 28.08.2010 | 16249 hits | 2 R)
|
L’ultime Reconnaissance - Hommage à nos Hommes d´exception! Merci Pius NDJAWE
( | 06.08.2010 | 13503 hits | 0 R)
|
Décès jeudi de Jean Bikoko, l’un des doyens de la musique camerounaise
( | 22.07.2010 | 17718 hits | 0 R)
|
Le diagnostic d’un échec
( | 18.07.2010 | 12957 hits | 0 R)
|
Au-delà de la débâcle des Lions indomptables au Mondial 2010
( | 25.06.2010 | 17006 hits | 1 R)
|
La Halte du Cinquantenaire ! Par Charles MOUKOURI DINA MANGA BELL
( | 01.06.2010 | 15407 hits | 0 R)
|
Kessern aus Kamerun: Die Biografie eines schwarzen Crailsheimers (1896 - 1981)
( | 22.05.2010 | 20355 hits | 1 R)
|
L´indépendance, il y a 50 ans ! L´indépendance, depuis 50 ans ?
( | 17.05.2010 | 16312 hits | 0 R)
|
Indépendance, la désullision?
( | 27.04.2010 | 13626 hits | 0 R)
|
Cinquante ans de décolonisation africaine
( | 18.03.2010 | 16143 hits | 0 R)
|
Les circonstances de l`assassinat de UM Nyobe, par Louis Noé Mbengan
( | 18.03.2010 | 15813 hits | 0 R)
|
Chefferies traditionnelles du Littoral
( | 04.03.2010 | 24599 hits | 0 R)
|
Peuplesawa rencontre Miss EBENYE BONNY
( | 19.02.2010 | 17556 hits | 0 R)
|
Grand Sawa: Le retour aux démons du «qui perd gagne» dans les Chefferies de la région du Littoral
( | 18.02.2010 | 21006 hits | 2 R)
|
LE PEULE DUALA
( | 15.02.2010 | 26174 hits | 0 R)
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
