Christmas Celebration: Some Pentecostal Leaders Need Theological Training — Rev.Prof. S.O.Y To Dr D.K Olukoya

The Provost of ECWA Theological Seminary, Igbaja, Rev. Prof. Stephen Oluwarotimi Y. Baba had decried the position of the founder and General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministry, Dr D. K. Olukoya, on the biblicality, or not, of Christmas celebration.

Christmas is a celebration among Christian symbolic of the birth of the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Its debut was on 25th December, 336AD, during the reign of Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Roman Emperor.

It will be recalled that Dr Olukoya had in the heel of this year's Christmas celebration said that Christmas is not celebrated in MFM  because according to him and as endoctorined among his church members, it is unbiblical.

This position had drawn a lot outcries among adherents of Christian faith with many renown Bible scholars lending their voices. (One Rev. Fr. John Oluoma had to come at Olukoya that if he would say Christmas celebration cannot be found in the Bible, Olukoya should also be reminded that soccer has no place in the Bible whereas he allowed his church to own a football club).

In view of the above, Prof. S. O. Y. Baba had said that such statement from such a pentecostal figure among many others untoward issues bedevilling the pentecostal circle suggest that some pentecostal leaders still need in-depth biblical teaching therefore suggesting a thorough theological training for them. 

His words:

"Dr. Olukoya said, Christmas doesn't need to be celebrated because it is not expressly stated in the Bible. Let me say that Dr. Olukoya and his Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries position on Christmas is a testimony to the shallow state of the popular Pentecostal Christianity in the present day Nigeria. Some of the pentecostal leaders are suffering from Biblical illiteracy. They lack the knowledge of Hermeneutics (Biblical Interpretation), Biblical Theology and Church or Ecclesiastical History (Church History) that has to do with Church development from the onset.

"I observe that some of the pentecostal ministers lack how to relate biblical facts to praxis (living). I want Dr. Olukoya to know that the birth of Christ in Ecclesiastical history is a fundamental doctrine of the Christian Church.

"Today, we are having Bibles in the hands of many unlearned and unschooled folks, who have no theological education at all but they are self-made pastors in Nigeria and are confusing people. Just check the social media you will see what they are doing (making their church members who loved to be deceived to eat grass, drink jik, etc).

"Henceforth, we need to train them theologically so that the so many uneducated pastors who are leading the Church and Christians in Nigeria and in some other parts of the world will know that Christmas is to be celebrated not because of the date but that God out of His love (chesed) for us chose to reach out to the sinful world.

"We, as Christians, are not idolaters when we celebrate Christmas, what we do is to celebrate the word made flesh that is living among us. This is what we teach and we want this to occupy the hearts of every Christian at Christmas.

"At Christmas, we are celebrating the unique Christ for Salvation, the one who reaches out to save the world. Thank you."

Prof. Baba's position and recommendations may not be out of place when one considers the ugly trends that have continued to pervade the Christian parlance, especially as perpetrated by the so called pentecostal pastors, which, for instance, have forced the like of President Paul Kigame of Rwanda to declare an "emergence in the establishment and administration of churches" in Rwanda. Kigame's effort has made it compulsory for anyone who wants to pastor any church at all in Rwanda to at least have a bachelor degree from a recognised theological institution.