WARNING AGAINST SOCIAL MEDIA CRITICISMS OF DIVINE MIRACLES IN NIGERIA

TOPIC:  WARNING AGAINST SOCIAL MEDIA CRITICISMS OF DIVINE MIRACLES IN NIGERIA

By Rev. Dr. Francis Ujunwa Simeon

In recent times, there has been  unabated social media attacks against the Church and miracles by some anti-Christian bloggers and netizens. Ministers of God have been at the receiving end of these vitriolic attacks. The focus has been on doctrinal issues, payment of tithes and offerings, prophecies and lately, the manifestations of miracles in Churches.

Spiritually speaking, a miracle can be defined as an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs. Miracles can be in the form of healing of medically incurable sicknesses and diseases, deliverance from demonic oppression and possession, supernatural protection or deliverance from danger, supernatural provisions, and certain phenomena that are beyond human understanding and explanation.

The Christian God, the Almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the God of miracles. In Psalm 77: 14, the Bible says : “You are the God who does wonders: You have demonstrated Your power among the peoples”.  In Job 9: 10, the Bible says: “He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles” (NLT). 

The Old Testament is replete with mind-boggling miracles which God did through His servants such as Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Elisha and many others. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ raised the dead, cleansed the lepers, healed the blind, the deaf, the paralyzed, the sick and the infirm, and the demoniacs. He also calmed the storm, walked on water, fed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread and fishes and countless other miracles. 

Quantifying the innumerable miracles done by Jesus Christ in the New Testament, John testified: “… if every one of them (miracles) were written down, I suppose  that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21: 25; See also John 20: 30-31). This gives us an idea of the innumerability of Christ’s miracles.

After His resurrection and ascension, Jesus Christ gave and continues to give His disciples the power to do signs, wonders and miracles in His name (Matthew 10: 1; Mark 16: 17-18). The Book of the Acts of the Apostles in the Bible contains a multiplicity of diverse miracles God wrought through the Apostles. So, miracles are an integral part of true Christianity and will continue to be so till the end of the world (Mark 16: 19-20; Luke 28: 19-20).

From the foregoing, only those who do not believe in or know God will think it is strange for God to do miracles. The Bible calls such people “fools”. In Proverbs 14: 2  it says,  “Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God …”

Some social media critics view miracles with skeptical and dismissive attitudes based on unbelief, spiritual ignorance, different religious perspectives or even atheistic worldview. Hence, being carnally minded, they tend to see the supernatural as outlandish, foolish or even fraudulent. The Bible says, “Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2: 14).

Those who know God and His omnipotence do not doubt the possibility of miracles. Only spiritual ignoramuses do so. Even experienced doctors and scientists have seen patients healed through prayers beyond intellectual and scientific explanations. People have received diverse miracles and healings at a distance through the cyberspace without any human contact. God is not bound by finite human or scientific laws of nature.

Unfortunately, in recent times, there have been social media frenzy concerning some of the testimonies of miracles by some members of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries (popularly known as The Chosen Church). According to the Church’s spokesman,  some bloggers mischievously doctored some of the videoclips to present the testimonies and the testifiers in a bad light. Some of the encounters which occurred in the dream, were reported by some bloggers as if they happened in real life.

 For example, a testifier who said he was carried to safety  by a lion in a dream and another one who disarmed four armed robbers in her dream, were mischievously reported as real life encounters. Hence, netizens quickly took the testimonies with a pinch of salt and mocked the testifiers. Some said the testimonies were fabricated and that the reported miracles were unrealistic. Since then, skit makers and comedians have flooded the social media with jesty or derogatory skits of “I am a Chosen. Who are you?”.

We should know that God intervenes in human affairs whether in dream or in waking state. There is nothing outlandish in all the testimonies of the Chosen testifiers. God has done and is still doing greater mind-boggling miracles whenever and wherever He wills.

A word of caution for social media bloggers and content creators who castigate or make a mockery of God, His servants and His miraculous acts. They are crossing the red lines!!! This is tantamount to blasphemy which can be defined as great disrespect shown to God or to sacred persons or things. It includes speaking, writing or acting irreverently or derisively against God, His servants and His miracles. Genuine miracles and divine interventions are acts of God and they are real. Whoever profanes, impugns or looks upon them as fraudulent, wittingly or unwittingly, questions the integrity of God’s power. If you do not believe in miracles, keep your unbelief to yourself and do not ridicule God’s miracles and those who believe in them.

Blasphemy attracts divine wrath. The Old Testament prescribed death or severe penalties for blasphemy (Leviticus 24: 16). Miriam and Aaron spoke denigratingly against Moses, the anointed man of God, and God struck Miriam with leprosy ( Numbers 12: 1 – 10). Similarly, forty-two young boys made a mockery of Elisha, the prophet. He cursed them in the name of the Lord and two she-bears came out from the bush and devoured them all (2  Kings 2: 23-24). God honoured Elisha’s word. 

In the Bible, the Syrian army besieged Israel and food became so scarce that some people started eating their children for food. God spoke through Elisha that within 24 hours there would be abundance of food at rock-bottom prices. The king’s aide scoffed in unbelief: “Even if the Lord were to make windows in the sky, could such a thing happen?”  He doubted the miracle-working power of God. Elisha replied him, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat from it (2 Kings 7: 1 – 2). 

The following day, there was a miraculous supply of abundance of food as Elisha prophesied. As the king’s unbelieving aide was trying to control the hungry crowd, he was trampled upon and he died. He saw the food but did not eat from it as Elisha prophesied (2 Kings 7: 16-17). Those who scoff at and despise God’s prophecies and miracles, expose themselves to divine wrath.

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ  warned that, attributing the miracles of God  to satanic forces is tantamount to the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which cannot be forgiven by God either in this world or in the world to come (Mark 3: 22, 28-30). It is an eternal sin. The same thing applies to those who wilfully or sarcastically scoff at or declare miracles as fake or fraudulent.

Blasphemers always suffer the wrath of God whether now or in future, whether they know it or not. The fact that men of God keep mum in the face of provocation does not mean that the blasphemers will go scot-free. The silence of the Church often emboldens the blasphemers to do more. Conversely,  these cowardly  blasphemers know that they cannot blaspheme against other religions and their clerics without adverse consequences. That’s why they avoid doing so.

Bloggers and content creators should steer clear of divine matters which they know nothing about.  They should not allow the lust for online or web traffic and popularity to expose them to divine wrath.  God has not appointed any person or institution as a sentinel over His Church. 

God says, “… Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own Master will judge whether they stand or fall.  And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive His approval”

 (Romans 14: 4).

 It is God’s preserve to identify and punish the false prophets and miracle workers or to validate His true servants. The critics of the miraculous are ill-equipped to assess the claims of supernatural phenomena because the process of God’s miracles are not always amenable to heuristic or empirical observation or analysis. You can only see the irrefragable evidence of the miracle but you cannot understand or explain the process.    

 Those who arrogate to themselves the task of calling God’s miracles and His ministers into question, are crossing the red lines and are on collision course with God. They should repent and retrace their steps before it is too late.

A word is enough for the wise.

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