OPINION: Of miracles and hopeless society looking for hope in wrong places

A self-styled pastor in South Africa made headlines recently by claiming that he had brought a dead man back to the world of the living.Some local media reported that the church whose pastor had claimed to perform the miraculous event of resurrecting a dead man had changed its story to saying that the “dead” man was already alive when he was brought to their church, and that all their pastor did was “complete a miracle that God had already started”.

While claims of miracles are as old as humans’ existence, what exactly a miracle mean is does not offer straight forward explanations. But at the very least, from the Latin origins of the word, miraculum, which roughly means to wonder, one can say that a miracle is an event that provokes wonder from those who witness it or hear about it.

This continent is no stranger to claims of miracles from the ever increasing number of people who claim all they do, say, preach is all in God’s name. The self-styled pastors, prophets, reverends, bishops, apostles, to name but a few. Many believers have been fed snakes, stones, and some magical portions to cure all ills and bring good luck in their lives. These claims of miracles are not only confined to these “religious leaders”, as many others from herbalists of all sorts to astrologers to one-time wonders who offer a drink to cure everything.

Every time there are elections in many countries in Africa, so-called witch doctors’ services are in high demand to help these politicians in their efforts to gain an upper hand against their opponents. These “efforts” have included barbaric acts of mutilating or even killing those with albinism.

These days even youths who are addicted to sports betting have come to expect miracles from their addiction. Hard work is anathema to them.

In 2015 Zambia, led by its president Edgar Lungu, dedicated its National Day of Repentance, Prayer and Fasting, to seeking God’s divine intervention in the country’s economic challenges.

Philosophers offer contradicting explanations when it comes to miracles but most seem to agree that any miracle would imply an event that defies the normal, natural laws governing life. As such those claiming to be religious leaders, who have such wide platforms unlike other miracle performers competitors like witch doctors and traditional healers, are becoming more audacious in their claims to perform their “miracles”.

With a gullible audience that is in perpetual search for improving their stations in life, these miracle performers have become rich.

Of all the miracle performers, the most successful ones are politicians.

Some of their promises during elections are so ridiculous they would put to shame Prof. J’s promises in his hit song, “Ndiyo Mzee” but people believe them and vote them into office. After their terms end with little to no significant fulfilment of their promises, they offer even more promises on top of the many unfulfilled ones.

Politics is the place one goes to for quick riches, where little effort of serving those who voted you into office is required. It offers many reasons to hide behind with the many failed promises which were lies from the outset, from religion, to ethnicity, to the central authorities being inattentive to the demands of the voters in a certain constituency.

Some of the longest serving politicians in office are those with very little accomplishments or the little known. Every time there are elections, these are frontrunners to retain their positions if there is no new rising star to topple them from where they are perched with fancier promises.

Despite all their mortal failings and not so mortal failings, these miracle performers continue to command such respect and influence over our lives because they tap into our fears, anxieties and expectations of what a better life means. We all would want to prolong our mortal lives even if for a second, and a conventional physician will not offer you that while a preacher or traditional healer will readily promise you of that.

We are desperate society, hopelessly clinging to anyone who comes along offering this or that miracle. A hopeless society that is forever looking for hope in the wrong places.