The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) will reportedly meet to address growing concerns and outrage over a recent viral testimony of examination malpractice by a congregant of Lord's Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries.
The witness, a middle-aged woman, claimed that an old man miraculously appeared to her in an examination hall and gave her the answers for an examination for promotion to the Nigerian Navy, Army and Air Force. She, in turn, shared her answers with another candidate.
“We had all written down our questions about the race. Then these ten questions came: ‘Name 10 French-speaking countries and their capitals. ’ Brothers, no one knew this question. So all I did was hold up the poster and say to her: ‘I am chosen! I am chosen! I am chosen! This question: Who are you? Where is the God of my pastor’s power? ’ Then suddenly, an old man appeared to my right in white. He said to me: ‘My daughter, start writing. ’ And I started writing,” she said.
She claimed that some of the guards, who suspected something was wrong, took away her church apron, causing “the angel” to disappear.
She added that after the apron was returned to her, the old man reappeared and gave her the answers to the remaining questions. She answered all ten questions correctly and said it felt like she was in a dream.
She also recounted how she signaled to a member of the Mountain of Fire who was sitting next to her and the woman silently copied her answers. “That’s how only two of us out of 102 were able to do this,” she concluded, sparking wild celebrations in the church.
Enter CAN
PUNCH reported on Saturday that the Chairman of CAN in Lagos State, Stephen Adegbite, said the religious association would meet on September 27 to discuss the matter in depth.
Article page with promotion of financial support
In addition, Mr Adegbite said CAN would address several other “unacceptable comments made by Pentecostal pastors on social media”.
Addressing the viral testimony of examination malpractice and similar allegations, the Lagos CAN President expressed shock that such testimony was allowed in the church.
Mr Adegbite called the testimony absurd and warned against promoting falsehoods within the Christian community.
“She is entitled to her opinion as she is the owner of her own mouth. But for someone to say something like that, we must verify it. We must see the people in the room and they must testify against her that that was never the situation. But looking at it from an ordinary point of view, it is nonsense and no one should accept it. There are testimonies that are not allowed to be given in the church,” said Bishop Adegbite.
The CAN president stressed that testimonies must be examined before being presented to a congregation.
ALSO READ: TRENDS: 'Witnessee defeated gunmen in her dream': Chosen Church refutes viral testimonies
He said, “There are stories that can only be told to monkeys, not to human beings. Therefore, that kind of testimony should be given to monkeys, not to human beings. God does not act in that way. I have a PhD. Which God of the Chosen will appear to you and give you answers to your examination questions? The God of the Chosen will give you strength to read your books and sit your examinations. There is no shortcut to success in life other than hard work and faith in God.”
“We will probably meet next Friday. It will be a general meeting of the CAN in Lagos and we will talk about it. We will talk about the madness that is going on among the Pentecostal pastors,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported how dramatic testimonies by members of Lord's Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries sparked debates on social media and an online challenge.
These viral testimonies, which witnesses claimed miraculously occurred after shouting the phrase “I am the chosen one” in their sleep, contributed to a popular trend on social media.
However, the church's head of public relations and media, Chidi Louis, denied the viral images and called them fabricated.
He said: “Nigerians should ignore the fake video and visit our church platform to listen to the full testimony and understand it better. The woman’s story happened in a dream, not in reality.
“Don’t believe everything you see on the Internet. Bloggers often edit content to ridicule God’s work. Most of these bloggers are evil and devilish.”