Monrovia – Archbishop Isaac Winker of the Dominion Christian Fellowship Church would be mistaken if he thought that his message at the program marking the one-year anniversary of the Weah-led administration on Tuesday, January 22 resonated well with all Liberians.
At the thanksgiving service in commemoration of the CDC-led government one-year at the helm of power, the Archbishop prayed that ‘God’ should rise up against anyone who will rise up against the leadership of Pres. Weah.
The clergyman’s comments have been greeted with a storm of criticisms from diverse segments of the public including the opposition bloc, student groups and even the religious community which Rev. Winkler claimed to be representing during the event.
At the event, Rev. Winker declared that he was making a prophetic declaration over Liberia, saying: “I want [to] throw out one piece of challenge. I stand representing the Church to plead with you in the midst of storm, opposition, bad mouthing, don’t fail the Church. When man says it cannot happen, the God that we serve – He has called you among others to serve. Keep your hands in His hands, you’re bound to succeed.”
He added: “The enemy fights in different forms, any one, any leader with a heart for his people needs the prayer of believers – Christians and all well-meaning Liberians. Because there are forces that vowed that what you promised would not be delivered…. All the politicians in this place today here me: If you don’t support the person in power today, there will be no support for you tomorrow…”
“I decree and declare that Liberians be committed to their country with true patriotism and nationalistic spirit. If you love Liberia, you’ll not be doing what you’re doing. Those of you on social media who are painting your nation ugly, who are you harming? You’re harming yourself. If no food comes to this country, President Weah and his family would be the last people to run out of food. You need to know that.”
Many accused him of misinterpreting the teaching of the scriptures for selfish reasons.
Winker Condemned
Abraham Darius Dillon of the opposition Liberty Party, speaking to FrontPage Africa retorted that it was unfortunate for Archbishop Winkler to use the Bible and pulpit to bully people who speak against ills in the society.
“Nobody should hide behind the Bible and the pulpit in the name of man of God and think they can bully or coward some of us into submission,” Dillon debunked.
“We will support our country and our government but when it does the wrong things, we will condemn it and criticize it, and proffer the proper suggestions and find the way forward. You can be Pope or whoever but when you use the pulpit to talk foolishness, we will rebuke you.”
He added that instead of the clergyman, who claimed to be speaking on behalf of the Church in Liberia exercising moral authority to speak truth to power, he turned ‘blind eye’ on the real issues and resolved to join the group of praise singers for his selfish gains.
“I am not too sure that Bishop Winker said we should support George Weah and his government when there are ills in the government. Is the Bishop saying that we should support the President when he violates the Constitution in broad day by appointing and commissioning ambassador with no Senate confirmation? And if we speak against those things, then God will come against us? Is the Bishop saying that when we released US$25 million in the name of mopping up the economy with no transparency in the process, and when we ask question, God will come against us? Is the Bishop saying that when someone become president and decided to build all these estates without declaring transparency, God will come against us?” he asked rhetorically.
He further said that there was nothing to celebrate as the government’s one year was riddled with “worthless praises for President Weah, sycophancy, lack of competence in government, amassing questionable wealth and delivery of cosmetic small-scale development projects, something that is far below former President’s Sirleaf one-year achievements.”
Also speaking to FPA, Martin Kollie, the Standard Bearer of the Student Unification Party at the University of Liberia stated that it was appalling for Archbishop Winker to be defending the government at the expense of the State and the poor and under-privileged people’s interest.
“In my mind, the assertions made by Bishop Isaac Winker really do not reflect the will of God. For the Bishop to have spoken in such manner, it is unfortunate because the Bishop should be more concerned about the increasing hardship under President Weah,” Martin Stated in his condemnation.
He added: “Because even when Jesus was on earth, he was more concerned about the poor, the under privileged, the less fortunate and the neglected class of the society. So, if the Bishop has lining his eyes to these harsh realities confronting the people, and instead of only praising the President, I think it is unimaginable and religiously sacrilege. It is a crime in the context of religion to get on the side of this new clique of kleptocrats and thieves; defending them at all cost at the expense of the poor people.”
Speaking to FPA, Kollie indicated that One of the fundamental responsibilities of the church is to defend the poor, and the weak, and called on the clergyman to stop making unrealistic remarks.
“As a youth and student leader in the country, I want to caution Bishop Winker to refrain from making unrealistic remarks because God loves the poor, God stands in defense of the poor and I don’t think he will penalize the poor, especially those who are speaking in their behalf.
When asked how he would rate the CDC-led government first year’s performance, the student activist responded: “The CDC led government has miserably flunked. Has the livelihood of our people condition change? In 2017, there were two sides of the debate: continuity or change. The Liberia people chose ‘change’ over continuity and retired the Unity Party and transferred power to the CDC Government. Unfortunately, this new ruling class has become a ruling clique of kleptocrats, looters and thieves and president Weah is becoming a dictator.
“The press was recently under attack. The student community is also under attack. Political activities have been banned at the University of Liberia, the first in 39 years for this unorthodox act he be introduced,’ he further vented.
The Reverend was not spared from the Christian community which he claimed to have spoken for.
Posting on her Facebook page on Tuesday, January 22, Rev. Keturah York Cooper, the Senior Pastor and Founder of the Empowerment Temple AME Church wrote: “Ministers of the gospel must do what Jesus did. Jesus stood on the side of the poor, the weak, the oppressed, the rejected, the sick. Jesus always challenged the powerful, the elite, the rich, those in authority to stand with him to empower the weak. Minister of the gospel, where are you standing? Peculiar, is how scripture describes a follower of Jesus Christ. uncommon, unique, different and never following a popular movement just to be in a crowd. Test every spirit whether it is from God or from the desires of the human heart. God will judge us”.
Then on Wednesday she posted again: “Since I heard with my own ears that Bishop Winker said he was speaking prophetically on behalf of the body of Christ (the Church in Liberia), let me emphatically state that the bishop’s utterances yesterday do not represent my views as a pastor, my church doctrine nor my personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Gerald C. Koinyeneh contributed to this story