The founder of Abel Damina Ministries and Power City International, Pastor Abel Damina, delivered a thought-provoking viral New Year’s Eve sermon that questioned some long-held beliefs and biblical passages, sparking a significant debate.
Mr Damina’s controversial sermon stirred up a storm by claiming that smoking and drinking were not sins, contrary to popular belief.
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The 64-year-old pastor also questioned the belief that Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden was caused by eating fruit from the forbidden fruit.
By referencing Mark 7:18-21 in the Bible, Mr Damina argued that it’s not what a person eats or drinks that makes them a sinner.
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He said, “Adam and Eve ate nothing. Adam and Eve didn’t eat anything. Were you there? You were not there. So how do we know whether they ate something or not? Jesus was there. Was Jesus there in the Garden of Eden? Yes. Can Jesus explain to us what happened? Yes.
“Do you not know that they would not be sinners if Adam and Eve ate something? It is not what people eat that makes them sinners. It is not what you eat. You cannot be a sinner by eating or drinking something’’.
Smoking, drinking
Mr Damina further ruffled many feathers when he stated that smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol are not sins.
“I’ve told you alcohol is not a sin. I’ve told you cigars are not a sin. If you like, put it on the newspaper headline, I said it. Am I saying you should smoke? You should have a sense from your father’s house to know that a cigar will cut short your life. Am I saying you should drink alcohol? You should know that if you drink alcohol, you will lie down inside a gutter. Your shirt and trousers will disappear.
‘‘You should have the sense to know that. There’s nothing a man eats that enters his heart. It’ll go to the digestive system and go out somehow. What comes out of a man defiles a man, not what goes in. What makes you a sinner is what you think, not what you eat. It’ll go to their stomach if they (Adam and Eve) eat. It’ll digest and go to the toilet. They’ll be free’’.
Controversies
Mr Damina, a popular televangelist, has courted recent controversies over his unconventional beliefs and sermons.
In October, a Christian group, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Ecclesiastical Affairs, berated him for allegedly preaching gospel messages with an “alarming rate of theological errors and heresies.”
In an open letter, the group said Mr Damina’s messages constitute “hate speech and cybercrime against the Christian faith.”
The highlighted controversial sermons, allegedly preached by Mr Damina, are issues the organisation has included: “There is no heaven,” “You don’t need God to succeed,” “Jesus is not coming back,” and “Heaven is a scam.”
The group said that most topics are mere “fallacies and heresies,” with unsound arguments, targeted at attracting an audience to Mr Damina through “content creating hype rather than being correct and spiritual.”
Irrespective of the criticism, Mr Damina, who in August said that he played a pivotal role in ordaining and mentoring Dunamis Church’s founder Paul Eneche, claims that the latter has firmly rejected in his sermons, boasts a significant social media following and commands influence among the youth demography in Nigeria.
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