VOA标准英语2013--肯尼亚的治愈教堂:

 

Kenya’s Healing Churches: Faith or Fiction?

NAIROBI — As Christian¹ churches grow in size and number in Kenya, they have created a growing industry of faith healers and televangelists.  Concerns are also rising that these new churches exist only to exploit the poor and desperate.  Kenyans are looking to spot the wicked among the righteous.

Exorcisms, twice weekly. That’s what’s being offered at the Around the Globe Ministry² in downtown Nairobi --one of the many new faith healing churches.

Apostle Francis Musili said he used faith and prayer to heal the sick, find love for the forlorn and give hope to the hopeless by driving out demons³ that possessed⁴ their bodies and souls.

Is it a real demonstration⁵ of the power of prayer? Or just some elaborate scam?

Musili said the proof was with the parishioners.

“I don’t believe that in the middle of Kenya we have such foolish people who will just be fooled every day. If I’ve been fooling them for the last 30 years, I believe I’m a very good trickster," he said.

The Kenyan media in particular have been critical of faith healing churches as exploiters of the poor, by selling miracles for profit. Musili himself does not charge for the deliverance service.

But like many evangelists, he is expanding his reach through TV and radio. He runs a formidable broadcasting operation out of the church.

“Myself I would not say I’m poor, I’d be lying. I’m not poor, but I’m also not rich. I’d say whatever I have is to facilitate me to preach the Gospel,” admitted Musili.

So when do faith healers cross the line from miracle workers to predators⁶ preying⁷ on the poor?

Reverend Peter Karanja, head of The National Council of Churches of Kenya, an independent organization, said miracles can happen, but they should not be sold.

“So the moment someone tells you pay something so that I pray for you and you’ll get a blessing⁸ or a benefit, that alone is a reason for you to recognize that here, you are being exploited,” he said.

The more established churches in the country are also concerned that some new ministries⁹ can bring with them some bad influences.

At the Catholic Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi, Father Simon Ng’ang’a said church leaders were only human.

“There are a lot of mushrooming churches. Some are based on the tenants¹⁰ of Jesus Christ. But I can say, there are some people who are very capitalistic. And when they are preaching to the people. They are not looking for the good of the people. But they want to enrich themselves,” he said.

Musili himself admitted there were some bad actors in Kenya’s many churches, taking advantage of the most desperate.

His advice is not to judge any church - new or old - just because of a few swindlers. After all, he noted¹¹, everyone has their demons. 

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

5 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

6 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 preying   

v.掠食( prey的现在分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生

参考例句：

• This problem has been preying on my mind all day. 这个问题让我伤了整整一天脑筋。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For a while he let his eyes idly follow the preying bird. 他自己的眼睛随着寻食的鸟毫无目的地看了一会儿。 来自辞典例句

8 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

9 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

10 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。