Can a Christian worship idol? Ooni of Ife speaks
– Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi said that the believe in nature does not mean idol-worshipping
– The Ooni of Ife said deities were also sent by God and deserve to be celebrated
– He recognised the fact that black men have powers that should be well used
Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi who is the Ooni of Ife has explained that the fact that he recognises the place of deities does not mean it is a sin.
The Ooni who has identified as a Christian caused a stir when he was pictured kneeling in a church.
Daily Post reports that the Ooni told people to stop misinterpreting the essence of festival and deities as they were part of nature.
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He said: “Those who keep sensitizing people against us that we are worshipping idols are not kind to history. I am proud to be associated with nature. Ife has 201 out the 401 deities and they are all relevant.
“These deities are divine messengers of God sent for different purposes. One of them is ORANFE, the god of fire being celebrated here today.”
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“It is a pity that all powers in the possession of black men are being used for battles and power tussles. It is from these unique powers that the west sourced technology and development from, and they are now using it against us.
“We are also following the instructions of God needed for the sustenance of mankind as everybody, including powerful leaders rely on nature to survive.
“Some of these deities also show the mysteries of God, God wouldn’t have made mistake in the creation of the deities, they are representatives of sciences being taught in schools.
“It is very sad that the western world has messed up our psyche and inflicted slavish mentality on us making us to believe we are idol worshippers as our pitiable neglect of our own culture and traditions.
“This is a major factor responsible for the poverty in the land. We left the positive sides and allow the west to implant the negative side in our brain.
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“Our people really need to be enlightened, a lot of these festivals have been misconstrued, misrepresented and demonised as if we are idol worshippers. We are not idol worshippers. We are rather believers in nature.
“I am not saying the commandments of God should not be adhered to, but we must know that all these deities are messengers of God.
“They represent nature. Nothing can be done without nature regardless of our religion be it Islam or Christianity or even traditional.
“We only honour nature because we are all integral part of it and do not worship idols. Some of the deities we worship have roots in the holy books,”
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