Resisting govt intrusion: From rent, sugar to religion - Part II

Since Jesus proclaimed that “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17), it was settled that the separation of Church and State would be respected. Now the so-called Religious Societies and Places of Worship Bill threatens to breach the sacred wall of separation between the temporal and the spiritual. I have had a taste of the distaste this offensive law is provoking.

Some weeks back, famed gospel musician, minister and worship leader Ron Kenoly was at the Zoe Fellowship Grounds in Kampala. I jumped at the opportunity to listen to a man I have admired since the 90s. Zoe Fellowship is headed by Prophet Elvis Mbonye - the man who has confounded and terrified us with his prophetic pronouncements. His pronouncements have ranged from the Oscars, through the chaos in the NSSF and UK politics to the tragic crash of Ugandan military choppers headed to Somalia.

At about a quarter to 11pm, the Prophet took to the podium. I have seen him on TV, but I had never heard him preach in person. When he mounted the platform, he appeared transformed. He is a lean man of slight build, but his presence was commanding. His sermon centred on the attempt by the State to curtail freedom of worship. He retold the familiar story of the kings and prophets of old and the kings who preferred prophets who would tell them what they wanted to hear rather than the truth. He then turned to our situation.

“Religious leaders have lost their prophetic power and voice. They have lost the substance of God’s anointing. They are under the armpits of politicians!” he said.
Referring to the saying by Jesus that “Ye are the salt of the earth...,” he observed that religious leaders have lost their saltiness and are trodden under the feet of men. “The State now wants to determine who is called into ministry,” he said. “There’s danger when the State threatens freedom of worship.”

But he wasn’t finished with religious leaders yet. “Religious leaders who run to the State for direction are irrelevant as far as the affairs of God are concerned,” he said with finality.

I have heard other men of God push back against State encroachment on religious freedom, but this was the boldest yet. The battle lines were marked very clearly. There he stood, a forlorn figure at the barricades, looking vulnerable but convinced of the rightness of his cause. He cut a figure that brought to mind David aiming a slingshot at the Goliath of State intrusion while more seasoned warriors of the faith are sticking their fingers in the air to see which direction the wind is blowing.

We need a balance. Do we limit the power of the State to encroach on freedom or do we limit freedom? The State has to move with caution. The proposed law subverts the constitutional guarantees of freedom of worship. The State shouldn’t be used by any group to suppress the religious liberty of any other group. And the religious leaders need to know that when the freedom of one group is threatened, eventually all will be threatened. Religious freedom is indivisible. You cannot give it to one group and deny it to another group. This is not the time to appease an intrusive State. You cannot look on while a crocodile eats your friends, hoping that it will eat you last!

Prophet Mbonye passes any test for a minister of the gospel. Pope Francis says: “The ministers of the gospel must be people who can warm the hearts of the people, who walk through the dark night with them but without getting lost. The people of God want pastors, not clergy acting like bureaucrats or government officials.”
I certainly left the place with my heart warmed. And for a bonus, I returned home to the great news that my son who had temporarily exiled himself from home was back! Talk about prayers being answered. Next time I am seen at Zoe it will not be just for the music.

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