Have you bought your fake goods and fake miracles?

A few weeks back, Pope Francis reached out to Judaism and said one could get salvation without accepting the divinity of Jesus.

There was no earthquake. So, I infer that Jesus being the Son of God, dying for your sinfulness and his resurrection are all right for those who believe that sort of stuff, but the narrative is not necessary for attaining a purity of heart.

And yet, as Pope Francis validates a non-Christian spirituality, the predominantly non-Christian Chinese are said to be rapidly jumping onto the Christmas band-wagon, spending, making merry and giving gifts, confirming that Christmas is now largely an excuse for indulgence in a consumer, with the interests of commerce outstripping the significance of the birth of Jesus.

Because only one week separates Christmas from New Year’s Day, it is easy to package all sorts of merchandise and social events to release (or detain) the consumer in a week-plus of holidaying and dizzy celebration.

Inevitably, dubious people also want to get their cut of the action.

If you bought a cheap Chinese toy or piece of kitchen equipment that falls apart after two weeks, remember that this was the best time to catch you. Take heart; you are not the only victim.

If you are a reveller, do not commit suicide just because that top celeb arrived at 3am to do his rap, if he came at all.

Very likely, he was billed as bait for several other happenings.
If you are a religious miracle seeker, you, too, must accept that this is the best season to con you.

The other day, on radio, I heard one of the preachers associated with “Namboole” negotiating the twisted paths by which he could sell his pack of untruths.

You see, when the end of year thing called “Namboole” was more or less alone, and teams of quack miracle healers such as Benny Hinn who had been debunked in the West could be imported to rally masses of gullible African natives, the organisers had a field day. As a business venture, it worked very well. Thousands of cash envelopes came in.

However, the market is now rather crowded. There will be masses of people at Kololo, Nakivubo and at stadia in other towns, where other religious entrepreneurs have laid their traps.
Moreover, over the years, even if only by a little bit, the credulity of the gullible is thinning. Yes, the cash envelopes are still coming in their thousands, but more people are asking: Where are the miracles?

The most abused word among our miracle peddlers is “olwaleero” (or today).

All the miracles happen today. Your life changes today. So, when January 1, 2016, becomes “today” on Thursday/Friday at midnight, expect all sorts of live, TV and radio psychedelics to rise to Hollywood grade crescendos. But, men and women of God, where are the miracles?

The preacher I have referred to was in a mental mess. Do you call it a dilemma? Okay. Since God is supposed to be everywhere, the preacher did not want to show any malice towards the people who chose to go to other venues, especially if their homes were far from Namboole.

On the other hand, a multiplication of venues means that there are other open air shrines taking away people who would have been Namboole clients. Cooperation does not mean the absence of competition. So he descended to the gutter.