Jesus is not Magaya and the two are incomparable and incompatible

Back in the village, in the land of milk, honey and dust or Guruve, issues about religion and religiosity, the art and the belief, occupy a very important space in socialisation. In the same vein, village elders, the ageless autochthons of wisdom and knowledge deal with issues of reality and perceptions of reality. The truth and what is perceived to be the truth.

In the past week or so, maverick self-styled prophet, Walter Magaya locked horns with apostolic faith sects in a manner that raises issues of authenticity, religion and religiosity. Interesting! Very, very interesting.

Admittedly Magaya has a huge following and is the man-of- the-moment among the tele-evangelists, attracting a huge following of people with an array of problems that need divine intervention. So far, so good!

However, that Magaya is dealing with the people's lives means he should be put under scrutiny and should be held accountable for his deeds and should prove authenticity. The apostles have challenged him to an open show of power and authenticity but funny enough, the man of cloth is backtracking and unwilling to face them. Therein lies his problem. If he has nothing to hide, let him go there and prove them to be good fools. Idiots, in fact.

This villager personally has no respect for Rev Ndanga's organisation given the way it mishandled the Budiriro issue that led to the bashing of its members by some congregants. But on this one, their challenge seems very genuine and in our national interest, given the huge numbers of people undergoing Magaya's therapy.

Many Zimbabweans have raised issues of authenticity on these Pentecostal churches that mushroomed way after our independence and started denigrating our ancestors and spirit mediums who led the struggle against colonialism.

This villager, churns out this peace, knowing fully well that multitudes of the gullible will attack him for daring their man of God.

I dare him to face the apostles for the benefit of this, our country, where people have sheepishly followed fake prophets, who use juju disguised as holiness.

The moment Magaya proves that he does not use juju as alleged, in the full view of the nation, then he will gain, forever, the trust, credibility and authenticity that make a man holy.

I am fully aware that the gullible are beginning to say Jesus was tried by the devil on the mountain and refused to take up the challenge. What nonsense? Jesus is not Magaya and the two are incomparable and incompatible.

Back in the village, we carry authenticity tests in various forms in the presence of all and sundry and flash out the bogus. The same process cannot escape those who handle bigger congregations.

Three years ago, when it was sacred to talk about these so-called men of God, I broke the back of the camel by solely challenging them and today, even cub reporters are now challenging these prophets.

This villager pioneered the struggle to open up the minds of our people and as those who follow this column might remember, I was persecuted, scolded and called names but I stood firm. Jealousy Mawarire even penned two long articles in defence of his prophet, whom he called his father. He abused this villager, but the truth always sets people free.

This villager even challenged the prophets to give proof to the nation of how they got anointed and where, in whose presence and even how they can prove their authenticity. But the most important aspect of the whole saga, a fish that can see that its water is getting shallower cannot be stranded. The gullible are getting less and less in our population and the people are beginning to ask questions about authenticity. One can ask: Where is Uerbert Angel? His pool dried and he left for the world yonder. People will always discover who you are, some very early, some early and some late, while others very, very late.

If Magaya is an authentic prophet, let him take up the challenge and prove the "marine powers" wrong because back in the village, an anthill that is destined to become a giant anthill will definitely become one, no matter how many times it is destroyed by elephants.

Magaya will still get his congregants back and his church will grow even bigger once he passes the authenticity test and proves these apostles wrong.

Do village elders not say the same moon that wanes today will be the full moon tomorrow? This villager is sure that becoming a genuine prophet takes a lot of time and talent. It is a gift from God and one does not become a master diviner in a day. A forest is not made in a season. The swoop of an eagle has seen many seasons and floods . . . Let us see the show of power and authenticity.