Disorder in the Streets

Once searching religious fora within PNG in the Internet, I chanced upon a blog site authored by an Australian national.  According to him, one of the things that spoiled his visit to PNG are street preachers.

I agree to that very much.  Actually it is not only I who agree but many of the citizens of this country who just do not have the chance or the means to speak out on the roof of their houses, so to speak.

Even without talking about the spiritual ignorance that these street preachers spread, in the physical plane alone, there are so many ugly things about them.

They are very much out of order.

They do not even have a sense of civility.  Most, if not all of them, do not get the consent of their local government authorities to allow them to preach in street corners.  We know very well that, if streets are within the proper of a city or town, they are public places under the control of government authorities, unless they are within private compounds.  Twisting some Bible verses, these preachers may excuse themselves by saying that their “godly” occupation is not subject to man’s ordinance or that God is higher than any human government. This greatly proves that they are not even aware of Scriptures that admonish Christians to subject themselves to the governments of the countries where they live.

So, they place themselves just anywhere along the streets of urban PNG.  When people crowd around them, the tendency is for the people to either get hit by approaching vehicles or cause unnecessary, heavy traffic.  If these street preachers have love for their listeners, they will not put them in a situation that can even kill them.

The Bible introduces God as a God of order.  I always remember what we learned from our Presiding Minister in the Church of God International, Bro. Eli Soriano.

Street preachers in PNG do not have a sense of order.

If you listen to the preaching of these street preachers, their sermons are also in chaos.  I remember one particular street preacher who likes changing his voice every now and then.  I think he’s not really a preacher but a showman (or better yet a show-off).

I understand Tok Pisin well, by God’s mercy.  When these street preachers talk, I do not get the point of the discussions of many of them.  Even spiders will object if you say that the preaching of these street preachers are entangled like cobwebs.

Those whose points I can understand, they are really objectionable.  I have talked with many people here in my five-month stay.  The very citizens of this country object to what they hear from street preachers.  There are those who like terrorizing people that God is out to kill people using the forces of nature.  There are those who like exalting themselves before people.

There are those who echo beliefs originated by white preachers, taking advantage of the admiration that their countrymen have for fair races.  For this specific kind, it is quite obvious that they are just out to get more money from their listeners.  Sometimes, they will tell people that they need to preach in a far place so the public should help them with their fare.

Actually it all boils down to money, whether they admit it or not.  Even if some of them will say that they are not after the money, they do not realize that they are practicing an unbiblical and unlawful means of living.  In the Philippines, such practice has been outlawed for many years already.  If such has not been done here yet, I believe it is high time that the PNG Parliament would follow suit.

With some talk and some acting, street preachers in this country earn easy money by cheating their fellows.  It is very unfair to most citizens who bear the heat of the day and other hardships just to earn a decent living.  Worse than that, they even lead people to believe in many pseudo-Christian teachings.  They bring more poverty and, ultimately, hell to unsuspecting Papua New Guineans.

Maybe it would be much better for members of Parliament to consider regulating means and venues of preaching in this country.  (Of course, I am not speaking about the contents of each preaching.)  I remember also that in 2007 the government of this country signed a covenant that the God of Israel is the God of PNG.  If that is the case, given that the God of Israel is a God of order, I believe it will be very godly for the government here to limit preachers to their rightful place that will not endanger their listeners at the same time.

The Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles preached in public, too, but they did not jeopardize the safety of their audiences.  Moreover, their preaching was sincere and did not involve collections whatsoever.  Best of all, listening to the Lord and His apostles will bring us to heaven, something that you cannot get from these street preachers who peddle the word of God.

I am thankful to the Lord that I learned His words from Bro. Eli Soriano and Bro. Daniel Razon.  God knows how much they want more and more people in this country to hear the true Gospel so as not to be fooled by false preachers not only in streets but also on media.

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