A message from the East Africa Coordinator

As floods of western relativistic tendencies and postmodern idealism sweep the region, the church in Africa finds itself ill-equipped to sustain its relevance in an unpredictable, constantly changing society.

The most subtle and venomous enemy of the church is the invasion of cults—pseudo-Christian and aberrant groups, both foreign and traditional—now arising to challenge orthodox beliefs. Syncretism, unsound theological trends, widespread ignorance of God’s Word, a lack of discernment, social benefits promised by the cults, the unpreparedness of pastors, and other factors heighten the predicament in which the church finds itself.

The African church needs to stand in defense of the Gospel. It must emphasize both formative education and corrective discipline. It must seek to win cultists to the truth rather than simply brand them as its enemies. And it must teach the absolute truth of God’s Word, defending it from misinterpretations and corrupting influences. This will require biblically informed leaders, theologically knowledgeable men who are passionate for the defense and preservation of the Christian faith.

—Rodgers Atwebembeire

To schedule an ACFAR seminar or conference, click here.

Still No Justice for Kanungu Killers

Uganda awaits the capture and trial of those suspected of murdering hundreds through the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God in March of 2000.

According to a report in the New Vision newspaper, “arrest warrants for [cult leaders] Kibwetere and Mwerinde still stand.”

Audio lectures on the Kanungu massacre by Drs. Chris Tuhirirwe and Paddy Musana, both renowned experts on the cult, can be heard on ACFAR’s iTunes page.

UPDATE: On March 20th the Sunday Vision newspaper published “I Almost Joined Kibwetere’s Cult,” a detailed interview with former MRTCG follower Elias Rutebuuka about his five-month involvement with the deadly Kanungu sect.

More ACFAR Audio Now Online

We’ve added more messages from our March 2010 conference and the Words of Hope broadcast to the ACFAR iTunes page, including:

Understanding and Answering Indigenous Cults by Robby Muhumuza (right)

Understanding and Answering Mormonism by Eric Pement

Understanding and Answering Jehovah’s Witnesses by Robert M. Bowman, Jr.

Is Jesus God? by Rodgers Atwebembeire

Commonly Misunderstood Verses by Rodgers Atwebembeire

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Answering the Prosperity Gospel in Cape Town, South Africa

The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa brought forth much fruit—especially in responses to the devastating errors of the Word-faith movement and “prosperity gospel.”

Preparing the way, J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu published an extensive advance paper, “From ‘Calvary Road’ to ‘Harvesters International’: An African Perspective on the Cross and Gospel of Prosperity.”

During the congress, Femi Adeleye (right) delivered a major statement at a multiplex session titled “Poverty, Prosperity and the Gospel,” recorded on video here.

Daniel Bourdanné offered a well-reasoned assessment of the movement’s errors with his online article “The Prosperity Gospel: All That Glitters Is Not Gold.”

And advancing the online “global conversation” on this topic, Ruth Padilla DeBorst attacked prosperity-purveyors in “The Gospel of Greed,” but mistakenly stated that these “Self-appointed apostles [who] are accountable to no one in matters theological, financial, or ethical” are “all men.” Evidently DeBorst hasn’t met neopentecostal preachers Imelda Namutebi Kula of Uganda and Margaret Wanjiru of Kenya and their counterparts.

NEW: African Apologetics Podcast

ACFAR now has a podcast, available worldwide via iTunes!

It features selected messages from ACFAR’s March 2010 conference and radio broadcasts by coordinator Rodgers Atwebembeire on the “Words of Hope” program.

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ACFAR ON THE RADIO

Be sure to listen to “Words of Hope” in Kampala on Spirit FM (96.6) each Wednesday at 8:30 PM (repeats on Sunday 7:30 PM).

ACFAR coordinator Rodgers Atwebembeire (shown at right) is presenting a series of studies on discernment and the defense of the faith.

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Exposing the “Bio Disc” in Africa

The Bio Disc scandal finally receives some long-overdue press coverage. In “QuestNet pyramid scheme drops anchor in Africa” we read of the multi-level marketing company’s exploits in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and elsewhere. The article’s unnamed author alleges that “The sale of [QuestNet] products is fraudulent and targets the poorest of society—those who are desperate to make money quickly. The scam destroys relationships, because it’s to family and friends that recruited salesmen then sell the scheme to themselves. They convince their friends into indebting themselves in order to enroll in the scheme, and later find themselves responsible for both their own and their friends’ financial struggles when the pyramid collapses.”

Read our evaluation of the Amezcua Bio Disc here.

Background: A damaging report on QuestNet was broadcast by American Public Media in February of 2008. Read their report here, or listen here. QuestNet was banned in Rwanda in August of 2009, according to this report, and was the subject of a “sting operation” in Armenia in December of the same year, according to this report.

Update: QuestNet is under criminal investigation in Turkey, according to a May 28, 2010 online report by the respected news daily Hürriyet: “The Turkey branch of an international Ponzi scheme that collected millions of dollars from thousands of people has collapsed after police raids against the company. Quest.net, which defines itself as an ‘international direct selling brand that utilizes network marketing combined with e-commerce,’ victimized nearly 20,000 people in Turkey, according to government officials. The company, which is headquartered in Hong Kong, has been banned in many countries.”