A section of clerics drawn from various parts of the country have called on the government not to crucify the entire church over the distressing religious cults that have rocked Good News International under the patronage of controversial pastor Paul Mackenzie.
While blaming themselves for doing little to salvage the crisis that has seen dozens of bodies exhumed from shallow graves at Shakahola forest in Malindi, Kilifi County, the clerics led by bishop David Thagana, the Secretary-General of the Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya demanded the punishment of the ‘false preacher’.
Thagana noted with concern that for people to have agreed to starve to death with a promise to meet with Jesus was thoughtless and a sign that the cult may have sunk deep in the hearts of his followers.
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The bishop insisted that for Kenyans to judge the entire church in the country over false Mackenzie’s teachings is undeserved as most preachers in the country are true to the course of spreading the true doctrines of Christ.
“We don’t blame the false preacher at all, we are taking a big share of the blame ourselves as the true gospel ministers for having failed to disciple our people well. From our true ministry, the victims, if we had reached out to them, would have chosen the right path to follow,” Thagana said.
Thagana at the same time blamed the government for having failed to recognize the underworld dealings in the forest despite having a whole chain of security team with a touch of everything happening on the ground.
“When we hear that he started recruiting people in 2020 and we still have a whole chain of government systems, we wonder how this escaped the whole chain of security command right from the ground to the top,” Thagana wondered.
To avert further recruitment and or emergence of similar dangerous churches, the bishop called on the government to keenly monitor activities happening across the entire country to ensure that Kenyans are safe.
On his part, Bishop Wayne Dorsett of the Wayne Dorsett Ministries from America insisted that the actions and teachings of Mackenzie in no way, shape, form or fashion the true nature of the New Testament church.
Dorsett described Mackenzie as a false teacher and a possible murderer or motivator for those who engaged in starvation with a promise to meet Jesus.
He urged the government to think very carefully about punishing the churches in Kenya of any faith because of the actions of this individual.
“As an American who greatly reveres and cherishes the religious freedom granted in our constitution, I would urge the Kenyan government to think very carefully about punishing the churches in Kenya of any faith because of the actions of this individual. The vast majority of churches in Kenya are seeking to bring good to the community, and not death, to help Kenyan people and families, and be a positive influence upon the Kenyan culture. This is not the first time something like this has happened, and unfortunately, it will not be the last,” Dorsett noted.
Dorsett urged the leadership of evangelical churches in the country to find their doctrine and teaching from a thorough and balanced study of God’s word, particularly the New Testament.
“It is my prayer that the Kenyan people will come through this tragedy, through the redemptive power of Jesus Christ, to a place of healing, victory and peace, as well as mutual respect between all churches and peoples of all faiths,” he added.
His sentiments were echoed by Reverend Phyllis Githaiga who regretted that some Christians have begun leaving the church over the mess.
“We are in a war and we want to admit that the doctrine that made people die is not what we preach or believe in. We appeal to policymakers not to generalize us because most of us believe Jesus came to give us life. We accept there is a problem and we are working on correcting it,” Githaiga stated.
Cult and ungodly customs
Githaiga who called out introducers of negative and ungodly customs such as LGBTQ called on true preachers to help in correcting the mess by pointing people to Jesus through inculcation of true doctrines as enshrined in the Bible.
Shakahola Forest, where 58 bodies have so far been exhumed, has since been declared a crime scene.
Mackenzie was arrested on April 15 after bodies of four people suspected of having starved themselves to death were discovered.
He has denied wrongdoing but has been denied bail. He insists that he shut down his church in 2019.
