Judgment on the African Church

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54297372

What a sad testimony. While I don't doubt that the Obama administration was pushing feminism and sodomy alongside their humanitarian efforts, one would hope the Africa church would see the danger of any and all connections to the American Empire and what it represents.

Perhaps they think it a good thing that the US military is heavily involved in the affairs of their continent and stirring its already burning fires? Maybe they're glad Wall Street is heavily involved in their countries, shaping and manipulating their economies and exploiting their resources.

Maybe so. But they wouldn't have a generation ago. And the reason they do today is that for the past generation they've been flooded with American Evangelical theology and its Dominionist agenda which has taught them to pursue power, money and to seek status in the world. This has shaped their thinking and skewed their vision.

Is China at work in Africa? Is China there to exploit as well? Yes, of course, but that doesn't excuse what the US does and the US is particularly dangerous and deceptive in that it weds a false moral narrative to what it is doing.

One would hope that African church leaders would stand up for truth and expose the many lies that are told in the West about the nature of Africa's problems.

In the case of Nigeria there's a geographical, cultural and resource-based fault line. The Black Africans in the south are largely animist and Christian and they have one type of culture. In the north, one finds the southern edges of the Greater Sahara region and the Sahel. These cultures are Arab influenced, Islamic, and oriented toward desert cultures and economies.

Population and strains and struggles for water are leading these groups (both north and south) into the Savannah regions – the in-between lands that aren't quite 'green' but not fully desert either. They're clashing over land, water, and other resources. The religious element adds fuel to the fire but it's not the only issue. Secular news coverage focuses on the population and resources. Right-wing and Christian news focus on the religious element and downplay questions of population strain and lack of water.

In fact in Evangelical and Confessional circles questions of population and resources are largely taboo and subject to severe criticism if raised at all. They are almost 'out of bounds' topics and there are numerous think-tank scholars, pseudo-scientists and corrupt lobbyist-types (bought and paid for by The Heartland Institute, Koch Industries, and Big Oil) that make the rounds on Christian radio shows and help to produce materials that are utilised in Christian academia and Sunday Schools. These swindlers and deceivers do very well for themselves and inflict a great deal of harm on the Church – leading the flock astray as to what is happening in the world and what the 'Christian' worldview is when it comes to climate, population, economics and the like. The world's answers are not our answers but according to these folks the Right-wing platform is practically synonymous with apostolic doctrine. The world's solutions may be misguided and the fruit of lost thinking but neither is the church served by the doctrines of these mammon-enslaved propagandists and church infiltrators.

The truth isn't served. Church leaders in Africa could tell the truth but like their American and Western counterparts they're corrupted – plugged in to the money machine. And besides, their nation's ruling classes are also largely on-board with the American agenda. They want the Pentagon there fighting their battles – and there's a lot of opportunities and money to be made in the process.

In the United States there's been a great deal of press regarding Seal Team 6 (the death squad that killed bin Laden) and their rescue of an American 'missionary' in Nigeria. First of all I'm not sure if he was an actual missionary. I've come to learn that about 95% of the people identified as such are not missionaries at all – at least not in any traditional sense. Often they're part of a large 'ministry' machines and bureaucracies which function more like NGO's or rather lucrative non-profit organisations. The preaching of the gospel is often lost in the folds of bureaucracy, psychology and market-driven ministry stratagems.

Secondly, the Christian Post and ex-CIA activist Mark Tooley are not trustworthy sources. The Washington Post reported on the story but I have yet to see any Christian question such paramilitary actions. While I'm glad the man is free, it's tragic that the Church is relying on the imperial legions and storm-troopers to fight its battles – for once again this ties and associates the Church with the American Empire, with Wall Street and Washington's foreign policy.

This unapostolic approach to 'defending the faith' should not be championed or celebrated by Christians but to no one's surprise the Dominionist factions laud this sort of thing and even the fact that men were slaughtered in the process. So much for bearing the cross. Instead the murder crew that is Seal Team 6 is treated as if it is the Sword of the Lord or 'the greatest force for good in the history of the world' as the heretic Mike Pence said about America's military.

If anything these actions are just fuel for the Islamic forces – a raison d'être, an imperative for their continued combat operations.

Kenya's story has some similarities but really their Islamic-related conflict has been in connection with US policy in Somalia that goes all the way back to the Cold War. In the 1970's and 1980's the US backed Somalia and its geopolitical claims against Derg-ruled Ethiopia. In the aftermath of the Cold War the US got entangled in Somali politics leading to the 'Black Hawk Down' incident and eventually a wider war with Islamic militants, pirates and the like. Kenya, a rising star in East Africa hitched itself to the US wagon and played the proxy, staging US operations and involving itself in the Somali conflict, deeply tying its state, economy, and military establishment to Washington. And so, whether the average Kenyan citizen likes it or not, Nairobi is a satellite of the American empire. And, they've suffered as a result as these actions have led to an up-tick in Somali-based terrorism within their own borders.

But again, rather than acknowledge the true nature of the problem – the fact that outside powers are seeking to manipulate and control Africa, the Kenyan population at large are instead compelled by their state and its propaganda arms to direct their ire toward the minority and neighbouring Somali populations and Islam in general.

One is hardly surprised to learn that there are Kenyan church leaders who echo this narrative and there are always a few ready and willing men that will make the rounds on Christian radio and give the pro-Washington, pro-interventionist (imperialist) narrative. It's imperial because these interventions are tied to geo-strategic and economic interests. If Kenya was say, Rwanda in 1994, then Washington wouldn't be interested. But Kenya is connected to a larger agenda the US has for East Africa and the Horn region.

These are the primary drivers for African church support of Trump and the American Right-wing. The social issues enumerated by these pastors are a smokescreen.

While there are problems with abortion and contraception, the truth is these leaders know all too well about the stress on African populations and resources. But they're riding the Western gravy train and through alliances and associations their congregations are being plugged into opportunities for advancement, the right kind of jobs, and connections with the West – and Western (and Evangelical) money flowing into their circles. The truth isn't really in their interest and so they are happy to function as echo chambers for the mendacious American Right.

And frankly some of these people are now part of their own cultural elite and may be utterly divorced from daily life and the struggles of those living in the shanty towns.

This story purports to be about what African church leaders are saying. And yet I assert the story is really about what God is saying – Dominionist Evangelical theology has brought judgment on the wider global Church and what we're seeing is an example of people being handed over, losing their discernment and moral judgment. 

Once again, the culprit is mammon. It's a cancer that corrupts motives, thoughts and while Jesus expressed the antithesis between His Kingdom and a life given to mammon – the Church continues to ignore and reject His words.

To these African Church leaders I can only say this – shame on you. Repent.