By Lydia Kukua Asamoah, GNA
Accra, Jan. 3, GNA – The annual prophesies of deaths of national leaders by some prophets in the country has not been beneficial to the nation, the Reverend Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, the immediate-past General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana has said.
He has therefore called on the media to stop providing “Media Oxygen to the death predictions by the prophets for public decency and maturity and for religious practices to thrive”.
Commenting on the pronouncements of such annual doomsday predictions by some prophets, Rev Opuni-Frimpong, who is a Lecturer at the Department of Religious Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, said the church should rather lead in the promotion of public decency and best practices that promoted healthy relationships between the church and the public.
He wondered why churches and pastors in other countries, including South Korea, France, Germany, UK, Canada, and USA, do not engage in such frequent predictions or discussing the death of their leaders or celebrities be it political, traditional, entertainment, all in the name of prophecy.
He said, instead of such public predictions, Ministers of the Gospel, who understood the prophetic gifts and the ministry should intensify Christian education on the subject both in their churches and in the media.
“We must protect the healthy relationship between the church and public officials, including church and Muslim relationships.
“The Church in Ghana must be of a better example to others in the African Continent”, Rev Opuni-Frimpong said, adding that “Christian mutuality and best practices in matters of faith cannot be compromised”.
As their usual practice, some of the prophets had predicted the death of some eminent Ghanaians and celebrities, during the 31st watch-night services held at various places on Monday night, leading to the vandalization of some church properties in Accra by some angry youth.