| Between Miracles and Science |
 Tunji Olaiya, (not real names), was giddy with excitement. The young man, an usher with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, was busy preparing for his wedding to another sister in the church. For the umpteenth time, he fantasised on how his wedding night would be. But, first, he had to go for the human immuno deficiency virus, HIV test, one of the prerequisites for marriage in the church. As it turned out, the revelation from the laboratory shocked him. It shattered him to pieces. The result showed that he was HIV positive. Naturally, Olaiya was numb with grief. It was a nightmarish end to his daydreams and fantasies about marriage.
But his story later changed dramatically. In a testimony shared during the December 2009 Holy Ghost Congress of the RCCG, Olaiya told a dumbfounded congregation an account of his healing. “ When I was told that I was HIV positive, I told my pastor and he prayed for me. After one of our monthly Holy Ghost services here at the camp, I just waited for daddy G.O ( Adejare Adeboye, RCCG, general overseer) to leave the podium. I rushed to his seat and carried it on my head shouting HIV, where are you? HIV where are you?’’ That was all it took. That week, Olaiya claimed the result of another test showed he is now HIV negative! Olaiya is only one of those with amazing experiences at the Redeemed Camp last year. Sunday Ojeme (not real names) was also in that celestial category. In July last year, Ojeme was sent to a bank by his boss. “When I left the bank, I boarded an okada (commercial motorcycle) and was given a crash helmet. As soon as I put it on my head, that was the last thing I remembered.” Ojeme recalled that he found himself in a forest in Osun State, where he was tied and blindfolded with 30 other people. He claimed many people were killed including a pregnant woman whose foetus was removed. “When it was my turn, they took me in front of a fat woman sitting on a mortar. She waved a wand over my head for a long time and even stood up, circling me a number of times. In the end, she said I was not their ‘meat’, that I was Adeboye’s son. That was how I was dropped at a footpath and I miraculously found my way to Lagos,’’ he said. Stephen Linus, a septuagenarian was relishing his old age, when his son had a terrible accident last year. The victim, a military officer, had his spinal cord crushed and his neck broken. The rest of his body was also battered beyond recognition. So, it was not a surprise when doctors told Linus to package his son for a special surgery in Europe. For the old man, the immediate problem was how to source £70,000, the cost of the treatment. The story, however, changed with a phone call. Somebody called him actually. The caller said, “Linus, Linus, Linus. Go to the Lord’s Chosen in Lagos and your son will be healed.” The old man could not trace his caller but yielded after the mysterious caller repeated the call and the instructions. Narrating the incident, Lazarus Muoka, general overseer, Christ’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries said, “ as prayers were going on, the young man stood up from the wheel chair with his spinal cord and neck healed’’!. But the healing of Linus’s son is not an isolated experience. Muoka claims that, “every now and then, sick folks are brought in from across the country and God heals them. In fact, we have had countless miracles of diverse kinds…’’ he told the magazine. As dumbfounding as the experiences sound, they are just a trickle of amazing testimonies in Christiandom. In many churches, testimony time is a period when many people talk of being healed or delivered from kidnappers in a miraculous way. However, these accounts are not the exclusive preserve of Christians. Islam, too recognises the existence of miracles or what is called Mu’djiza (an Arabic word for miracles meaning ‘that which the prophet confounds or overwhelms his opponents’) Femi Abbas, an Islamic teacher and newspaper columnist said miracles do exist in Islam. “The revelation of the Quran is itself a miracle. There have been instances where Allah intervened in the lives of people as recorded in the Holy book. Although the concept of miracle has been bastardised in Nigeria, it does not take away the fact that Allah in His mercy can cause a divine intervention in the lives of people who seek his face.” Abduljeleel Yusuff, a missioner with Ansar’Udeen Islamic Society, submits that “ the genesis of miracle is from the Almighty Allah who sent His prophets. There are numerous experiences in the Quran. Look at the case of Prophet Musa when he was sent to Pharaoh’s house. Allah gave the Prophet the power to overcome. That is a miracle. Nowadays, there are some anointed fellows that Allah gives the power to heal. It is very possible,’’ he said. Wikipedia, an online encylopaedia, describes miracle as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can be attempted to be explained by divine intervention and is sometimes associated with a miracle worker or God. This, for science, is where the problem is. For ages, science and religion have parried and toed different lines. For science, God does not exist and such interruptions of the laws of nature are the inevitable exceptions or at best, coincidences. Miracles and divine interventions have also found places in traditional beliefs. During the annual Osun Osogbo festival, adherents of the Osun goddess pray at the river bank for all sorts of miracles, especially children. As a mark of their faith in the goddess, they fetch the water in gallons and jerry cans for drinking and bathing. In Chad, Sudanese refuges are said to drink Mihaya, a traditional healing water prepared by writing Quranic verses with a special ink on wooden plates and washing it off with water. In Albania, a rock in Lac is usually touched by the sick seeking healing. The rock’s powers have been linked to Shna Ndo, a Christian pilgrim who allegedly passed through the town during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Can science prove that miracles exist or not? Richard Sloan, a psychiatrist at the Columbia University, United States, said miracles or divine interventions do not have root in science. “ Science doesn’t deal in supernatural explanations. Religion and science address different concerns. I frankly think there is nothing that science can do that can contribute to religion, and I think it is a fatal flaw to think that you can use the methods of science to learn something about religion. Besides this, those in the scientific school of thought are also quick to argue that miracles are unverifiable. They argue that many of the things referred to as miracles actually run against the grain of common sense and can not be established empirically. But Jimi Buraimoh, pastor with the RCCG says miracles are real. He argues that the power of God exists as of old. “ God heals, delivers and saves. He is an almighty God that works in awesome ways. You should know that human beings are spiritual beings. Miracles are products of God’s power and mercy. But there are miracles and there are miracles, a miracle from God stands the test of time,” he said. Yusuff also warned that “ we should be very careful of fake miracles, one should not subject oneself to the antics of magicians and fake prophets,’’ he said. Buraimoh added that what makes an incident a miracle is actually the fact that it can not be empirically established. As far as he is concerned that is why God is known to work in mysterious ways No doubt, Nigeria has a rich experience in miracle working and miracle seeking. There are pastors, imams and traditional healers who leverage in that domain. Some years back, Atmosphere for Miracles, a television programme produced by the Christ Embassy Church, Lagos was banned by the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, for broadcasting what was called ‘unverified claims of miracles’. The programme was popular for the spontaneous ‘healing’ of the lame, the blind and many others. After the programme was yanked off the air, the church made do with its ordinary sermon session programme. But that has not stopped the church. It has a healing school where the sick and those in need of miracles are prepped for a divine intervention.
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| Views: FOLASHADE ADEBAYO |
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