Regulate church sector
The horrific revelations about what was happening in the household of the self-proclaimed man of God Timothy Omotoso have left many people absolutely shocked and disgusted. The testimony of state witness Cheryl Zondi has laid bare the depravity of Omotoso and his inner circle.
That these depraved things were done under the guise of Christianity makes this all the more disgusting. The last thing people expect to find there is abuse and sexual exploitation from the self-anointed “man of God”. The dictionary defines a cult as “a system of religious worship especially as expressed in ceremonies; devotion or homage to a person or a thing”.
To all intents and purposes what Omotoso was running, was a cult. He gave himself all the rights to do as he pleased with the members of the congregation. The central point of so many cults is sexual exploitation and sexual gratification of the leader, who always happens to be male.
One wonders why this kind of thing always happens in a religious environment, contrary to every stated intention and aim of a religion. The Roman Catholic Church in the West is reeling from sexual abuse scandals going back decades committed by their priests and, to a lesser extent, their nuns.
Does religion attract deviant characters, or what is it about the religious environment that lends itself to such deviant behaviour?
Should society be extra vigilant when we send our young ones to church?
After all these shenanigans reported daily about churches, should we look at them, from now on, differently? Should we trust them? If we have to watch a religious leader like a hawk in case he could be a sexual predator, then what is the use of risking the wellbeing of our young ones by sending them to these religious institutions?
The world is a rough place – has that also infiltrated the churches and taken root in them? Do churches have the ability and the will to tackle this issue? Has the time come for all churches to be strictly regulated and be affiliated to one regulatory body? Why is it so easy for anyone to open a church, formulate their own rules and be accountable to no one? Shouldn’t there be minimum standards for any religious leader to obtain before they are allowed to form a church?
As things stand, I could wake up tomorrow and tell people I am a prophet and form a church, collect money and go out and do whatever I like and no one would stop me.
Government has the responsibility to regulate this sector. The country exempts churches from paying tax, so regulating them should really be a must. In actual fact, we pay the churches to exist through the tax exemptions they enjoy. If a church doesn’t comply then they should be made to operate like a normal business and pay company tax like all other commercial enterprises.
Enough is enough, we have tolerated these charlatans long enough.