...isn't/wasn't it refreshing to hear - just the other night upon 'the 700 Club' - of Muhammadu Buhari, the Muslim President of Nigeria's generous eulogy to the passing of one of the all-time great evangelists (nicknamed 'Africa's Billy Graham') of the African continent?
Speaking of the death of the (I believe, Dutch) preacher Reinhard Bonnke, he declared that Bonnke's it was a loss "to Nigeria, Africa, and the entire world".
Rare praise indeed, and especially for one of a rival religion which has been in a veritable *'battle for Africa' with the Islamic religion - as Communism faded out of the picture over recent years and decades (there as pretty well everywhere); and a man, moreover, who was credited with having helped **'convert' up to 75 million or so Africans to the ****Christian religion over the long tenure of his evangelistic *****campaigns there...
*A term taken from the bestseller by Brother Andrew, Battle for Africa, of a half-century ago.
**Though it is simply inconceivable that Bonnke himself wouldn't have - immediately and readily - disowned/disavowed all personal credit or praise for such achievement, ascribing the spiritual success of his ministrations instead to the all-powerful ***convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit...
***Jesus Himself promising His eleven disciples/apostles that God the Holy Spirit - upon His descent, after Jesus' own ascent to the third heavens - would convict people
of sin, because they believe not on Me;
of righteousness, because I go to My Father...
of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
(Gospel of John, 16:8-11)
****Again, Bonnke would never have claimed 'his' converts were being/had been converted to a religion (as such), realizing as all truly converted Christians do that conversion is ever and only to a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, The Eminent Personage to Whom the Apocalypse, i.e. the Book of Revelation, ascribes the pre-eminent title
LORD of LORDS and KING of KINGS...
*****I was about to put 'crusades' (but thought better of it), showing how such terminology is still freely, readily employed by believers even today, if arguably less and less acceptably (to many - secular onlookers and critics anyhow!) But, once again - cf my (December 9th, November 29th and August 25th) blogposts, and, especially, my - still uncompleted - January 17th one entitled 'Making a man an offender for a word'...
Speaking of the death of the (I believe, Dutch) preacher Reinhard Bonnke, he declared that Bonnke's it was a loss "to Nigeria, Africa, and the entire world".
Rare praise indeed, and especially for one of a rival religion which has been in a veritable *'battle for Africa' with the Islamic religion - as Communism faded out of the picture over recent years and decades (there as pretty well everywhere); and a man, moreover, who was credited with having helped **'convert' up to 75 million or so Africans to the ****Christian religion over the long tenure of his evangelistic *****campaigns there...
*A term taken from the bestseller by Brother Andrew, Battle for Africa, of a half-century ago.
**Though it is simply inconceivable that Bonnke himself wouldn't have - immediately and readily - disowned/disavowed all personal credit or praise for such achievement, ascribing the spiritual success of his ministrations instead to the all-powerful ***convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit...
***Jesus Himself promising His eleven disciples/apostles that God the Holy Spirit - upon His descent, after Jesus' own ascent to the third heavens - would convict people
of sin, because they believe not on Me;
of righteousness, because I go to My Father...
of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
(Gospel of John, 16:8-11)
****Again, Bonnke would never have claimed 'his' converts were being/had been converted to a religion (as such), realizing as all truly converted Christians do that conversion is ever and only to a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, The Eminent Personage to Whom the Apocalypse, i.e. the Book of Revelation, ascribes the pre-eminent title
LORD of LORDS and KING of KINGS...
*****I was about to put 'crusades' (but thought better of it), showing how such terminology is still freely, readily employed by believers even today, if arguably less and less acceptably (to many - secular onlookers and critics anyhow!) But, once again - cf my (December 9th, November 29th and August 25th) blogposts, and, especially, my - still uncompleted - January 17th one entitled 'Making a man an offender for a word'...
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