Debating the relevance of religion today, Olive Najjuma, a presenter of The Fatboy Show, said many people have been misguided and exploited by some sects of religious leaders.
“Religion has somewhat impacted people negatively in Africa. Instead of job searching, people will go to church. Spend all their day at church, and some pastors enjoy milking these people without advising them on what to do.”
She added that even educated people desist from informing themselves with information that directly impacts their lives such as current affairs or economic matters but recite the Bible from cover to cover.
However, she also believed there is some good related to religion. “70 percent of Ugandans are mentally unwell. Religion has helped them find some solace in times of tragedy and loss.
A caller on the show known as Alex held the same sentiments. He divided the relevance of the Bible into four sects; history, moral teaching, prophecy, and fulfillment.
He explained that history in the Bible offers guidance to people, and moral teaching helps impart discipline and morality to people. But he noted that most preachers altered its meaning to extract money from their followers.
“Many people are not getting the true, teaching of the word, for example, many churches preach about the mustard seed today referring to it as money, yet in the Bible, in Mathew 13:31-32, the mustard seed is explained.
“In many churches, it is referred to as money and compels people to bring money to the church hoping to harvest its fruits yet it is wrong teaching. The mustard seed referred to the true word of God and not money,”
However, he also acknowledged that religion is a vital part of society. People need to discern what they hear from the teachings of religious leaders. So people need to read the bible and make sure they are correct.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, and Sarah every weekday from 6 am to 10 am on RX Radio.