Cameroon Government Shuts Down Over 50 Pentecostal Churches, Plans to Shut 100 in Total

This is actually frightening, where is freedom of religion in this country?  Now I know that a lot of churches are mostly con artists preaching a false doctrine stealing people’s hard eared money, but what about the ones that are not con artists that get closed down?  This shutting down of these churches is something FAR bigger than meets the eye – this is an attack on Christianity.

Cameroon Government Shuts Down Over 50 Pentecostal Churches, Plans to Shutter 100 Total

CAMEROON – The government of Cameroon is severely cracking down this month on Pentecostal churches, vowing to shut down nearly 100 congregations.

Paul Biya, the president of the western African nation, says the closures are an attempt to prevent Pentecostal pastors from conducting “criminal practices” that allegedly threaten Cameroon’s national security. Thus far, at least 50 churches have been shuttered by government officials, but more forced closures are on the way. [Emphasis added]

Cameroonian officials claim these Pentecostal churches are a menace to their country’s well-being because of fake healing attempts and other controversial spiritual activities. For instance, the government is citing the death of a 9-year-old girl during a prayer session last Sunday, when a Pentecostal pastor was attempting to cast out demons from her body.

Mbu Anthony Lang, an official with the Cameroonian government, told CNN that only 50 of the 500 Pentecostal churches in his country are technically legal.

“We will get rid of all the so-called Christian Pentecostal pastors who misuse the name of Jesus Christ to fake miracles and kill citizens in their churches,” he vowed. “They have outstretched their liberty.”  [Emphasis added]

According to Operation World, 54% of Cameroon’s 20 million residents describe themselves as Christians. 800,000 Cameroonian Christians are Pentecostals, but that number is growing at an annual rate of approximately 7%.

Though the country is technically a secular nation, Cameroon’s constitution provides for religious freedom, and says “freedom of religion and worship shall be guaranteed.”

Boniface Tum, a bishop at a Cameroonian Church of God, told CNN that the government’s crackdown on Christian churches violates basic human rights.

“Authorizing only the Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Muslim, and a few other churches, is a strict violation of the right to religion,” Tum said.

After his church was shut down last week, Pastor Elie Pierre encouraged churchgoers over a loudspeaker.

Following the reports of church shut-downs, some were pleased. One commenter called the development “good news,” and said “I hope the rest of African countries do the same. Well done Cameroon.” Another posited, “All countries should get rid of all churches and ban those vile books called [the] Bible, Koran, etc. Religion has no place in a civilized world.” [ Emphasis added]

However, Theres Nchanji, leader of another Cameroonian church that the government recently shut down, explained that all countries need Christian churches.

“No state can do without a Church and the Bible says whosoever calls the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved,” she said, according to Voice of America. “The Bible says that our weapons are not carnal-they are spiritual. When the devil attacked Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus said it is written, he never picked a stone to face the devil.”

Source:  http://christiannews.net/2013/08/16/cameroon-government-shuts-down-over-50-pentecostal-churches-plans-to-shutter-100-total/

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DTW notes:

That is very interesting, how can Word of Faith church / charismatic services that preach a false doctrine threaten national security?  Strangely enough I read somewhere that America will soon in the future be targeting Christians because they also threaten their ‘national security’.

The government officials want to get rid of churches that misuse the name of Jesus.  Now the question arises, that unless the government knows their bible well, how can they tell who is misusing the name of Jesus?  And clearly they don’t know they bibles because they would be closing down Roman Catholic churches too, as they misuse the name of Jesus under the disguise of Horus.  What about the Baptists that they mentioned that might possibly be the cult of Calvinism?  They sure misuse the name of Jesus by stating that He only died for the Elect and not the whole world.

Is this attack on Pentecostal churches in Cameroon the start of the eradication of Christian churches?  As another commenter states, he hopes this move spreads across Africa.  Get rid of this vile religion and it’s bible they say.

We surely are in the last days.