There have been some misconceptions about the UCKG HelpCentre, its activities and what it stands for.
Unfortunately, the Church has needed to take action against some media organisations who have published inaccurate information about the UCKG. We would prefer that, if media organisations have any questions about our work, they come to us first to get the facts.
Our response to some misconceptions are listed below, as are articles about organisations that had to correct their inaccuracies about the UCKG.
Myth: The UCKG is involved in fraud and drug trade
Truth: The Church is not involved in fraud and drugs. As a Christian church, we abide by the Ten Commandments and teachings of the Bible, and that means being honest and operating within civil law. We are also engaged in the fight against drugs as seen by the sessions we have teaching people how to develop their inner strength to beat addiction. Past investigations into the church, prompted by defamatory press reports, have always exonerated us.
Myth: The UCKG offered to exorcise Victoria Climbie
Truth: The UCKG did not offer to exorcise Victoria Climbie. The truth is that UCKG was the only organisation to have taken action to help Victoria Climbie. A Charity Commission investigation ascertained that there was no wrongdoing on the part of the church.
Briefly, the facts are that the little girl attended the church with her aunt on three occasions, but we had very little contact with her. On her last visit, the Church took action to get her to hospital. Our Church has a formal Child Protection policy which states that we shall always put the child’s interest and safety first. Read more about what really happened.
Myth:The UCKG is a cult
Truth: A cult is generally understood to be an informal and transient religious or quasi religious belief system regarded by others as misguided or unorthodox. Therefore by definition UCKG cannot be and never was a cult. It is part of the mainstream Pentecostal movement which is a bona fide Christian organisation.
Myth:The leader of the UCKG was imprisoned for fraud
Truth: Bishop Edir Macedo was arbitrarily imprisoned for 11 days in 1992. No charges against him were ever proven; and it is felt within the church that this action was politically motivated. To put this in context, unjustified persecution of innocent Christians for political reasons has been a feature of the last 2000 years’ history.
Myth:The UCKG claims to heal people
Truth: The UCKG does NOT claim to heal people but we believe that God can heal through the power of faith and this is in line with the growing interest in the healing effects of prayer (for problems as much as for health) which exists right across the Christian community.
We hold services every Tuesday that are specially designed to connect with the power of faith and benefit attendees who may be experiencing illness. Interestingly, the Church of England in its report A Time to Heal (2000) encourages every parish church in the UK to adopt the ministry of healing. The report says where physical healing does not take place, people have a need to try an emotional, psychological or spiritual approach.
As regards UCKG, however, we do not have specialist medical expertise so people who present themselves at church with an illness are ALWAYS advised to go to their GP for a proper medical diagnosis. Similarly, anyone claiming to have been healed, whilst attending one of our centres is invariably referred to their doctor, because we do not recognise a healing unless it has been confirmed by a qualified medical practitioner. (Please note: we like to publish medical evidence with our testimonials).
Myth:The UCKG is greedy as it asks for tithes and offerings
Truth: The UCKG is not greedy. Tithing is part of the financial giving of many Christian churches to support the work of the ministry and pay for the upkeep of buildings. People are free to choose whether to give or not. It is a voluntary contribution made in keeping with the vast majority of other evangelical churches. We are no different in this. The church is funded entirely on tithes and offerings with very minor incidental income from sales of Christian literature. No one is ever forced or obliged to give sums of money. All offerings given in the UCKG are freewill offerings that are re-invested in order to fund our community-based projects and social.
Read more about organisations that had to correct their inaccuracies about UCKG
Newstatesman, Political Magazine
You may have read some of the above myths about the UCKG on a website created by a man named Rick Ross, who calls himself a cult expert. However, an investigation by the Religious Freedom Watch concluded the following: “Although Rick Ross promotes himself as a professional ‘cult expert’, a review of his educational background shows that quite apart from being anti-Christian (he refers to Christians as “Bible bangers”) has no religious educational credentials whatsoever […] Ross systematically engages in anti-social and often illegal activity and disguises this in the name of ‘help’.” Read more
More in-depth information on all Rick Ross’ background.
Notifications
Post a Comment