“People are suffering and they need hope, which is exactly how they end up falling victim to these false pastors and prophets,” Movement Against Abuse in Churches founder, pastor and Christian activist Solomon Izang Ashoms said.
Pastor Ashoms made this remark on Friday upon the completion of his three-day one-man protest intended to raise awareness of members of the five-fold ministry that he says continually get away with bringing the church to disrepute.
The protests were carried out in Pretoria, Sandton, and Soweto. He was holding a placard stating “Clean the church” while he handed out pamphlets to passersby and offered some teachings.
On why he chose these specific areas to protest, he said;
“I looked at the demographics. It is in these places where you find the most people who go to these churches, led by false prophets. In Soweto I was in Chris Hani Road, right next to Baragwanath hospital. Here, people are suffering and they need hope, which is exactly how they end up falling victim to these false pastors and prophets.”
The three days of Pastor Ashoms’ protests were symbolic of the death of Jesus Christ who died and rose on the third day.
An ordained minister of the word for ten years with a pastoral calling, the cleric does not lead any parish as he believes his calling is activism: to speak up against those who purport to be pastors and prophets when all they do is subject believers to abuse.
“I have been teaching about this for the past ten years. I’ve endured threats and insults, yet today, people now come up to me and say they realise how they have been abused.”
According to him, although people still fall victim to abuse in churches, some have only just realized the danger of false prophets and pastors.
He said while some people asked to join him in the three-day protest, he insisted he would do it alone to teach people that even as individuals, people can make a difference.
South Africa has of late seen an exponent rise of civic-driven movements staging demonstrations against a wave of contemporary young preachers widely accused of abusing the pulpit to dupe the pew for personal nourishment.
In 2018, a civic group called Speak The Truth took to the streets to protest against false prophets in a much-heralded march dubbed March Against False Prophets in Johannesburg.
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