Mills worried over politics of insults, false prophets

Accra, July 28, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills on Thursday appealed to the clergy to lead the crusade to halt the politics of insults and the growing incidence of false prophets that had plagued the society in recent times.

He spoke about the importance of strong moral and spiritual foundations in nation building and expressed the belief that the flock would join in addressing the evils once the leadership took interest in the matter.

While commending a section of the Christian community of being outspoke= n on the ills, the President stated that politics of insults and the influx o= f religious charlatans would in no way do the nation any good. President Mills expressed the concerns when a delegation from the Methodist Church of Ghana led by the Presiding Bishop, Most Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante, paid a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu. The visit was to formally invite the President to participate in the climax of the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Church and of being granted autonomy in Ghana. President Mills condemned the spread of false information about politica= l figures and the use of intemperate language and wondered the kind of lesson= s adults were teaching the younger generation.

Additionally, a number of people were parading as prophets, but with spurious messages that were not Bible based.

President Mills said true men of God make true reference to the Bible and when they did not have anything to say, they keep their mouth shut. He commended the Methodist Church on the successes it had chalked and its contribution to the social development of the nation, especially in the area of education. President Mills assured the Methodist Church of the government's continued support, stressing efficient church and state collaboration in th= e national development drive. Most Rev Prof Asante said the Church, which had more than one million members in Ghana, had consolidated the dynamism bequeathed to it by the British. He said the Church had been in Ghana for 175 years and had expanded what the British left for it.

These include Wesley Girls High School, Mfantsipim School, both in Cape Coast and the establishment of the Methodist University in Accra. The celebration had been marked with outreach programmes, social work and crusades. The climax comes off next Sunday at the Accra Sports Stadium.