Church marriages are breaking-up because of false teachings —Pastor Buru

He has, through the foundation, been advocating for peaceful co-existence of Christians and Muslims in Kaduna State. He often organise platforms for adherents of the two religions to meet,  interact, wine and dine together, especially during festivities. In this interview with Sunday Trust, he said divorce is becoming rampant in the church because believers are […]

He has, through the foundation, been advocating for peaceful co-existence of Christians and Muslims in Kaduna State. He often organise platforms for adherents of the two religions to meet,  interact, wine and dine together, especially during festivities. In this interview with Sunday Trust, he said divorce is becoming rampant in the church because believers are getting married to unbelievers. Excerpts…

How did you start your foundation and what has been your driving force?
Peace Revival and Reconciliation Foundation of Nigeria was founded at the end of 2012 after the Wusasa and Trikania bomb blasts. The mission of the initiative is to foster inter-religious, inter-communal and inter-ethnic peace and unity within and outside the state. My driving force has been my love for peaceful co-existence, my respect for life, love for humanity, my belief in the word of God (Holy Bible) and believe in good neighbourliness.

How challenging has it been bringing Christians and Muslims together in Kaduna state?
Actually, it has not been difficult the way people think, but the level of understanding of both Muslims and Christians differs. Some are positive while some are sceptical because of the wide gap between the two faiths.
Although positive responses have been recorded to the call to peaceful co-existence between Muslims and Christians, the major challenge I experience most of the time is the lack of understanding.

You are one of those calling for dialogue with the dreaded Boko Haram sect, do you still take the same stand and why do you think dialogue will address the insurgency?
I am strongly and fully standing by my position that there must be dialogue between the Boko Haram sect and Federal Government. My Holy Bible tells me that: “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord.
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as ‘White as Snow’; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) If God would call man who sinned against him for dialogue so that peace may reign, I see no reason why the Federal Government that is God’s authority for the good of all Nigerians will not dialogue with Boko Haram.
The Holy Bible further says: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on your part, live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18). “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they would be called the sons of God. (Matthew 5:9). With the above passages of the Bible and many more, I am still standing by my position that dialogue is the possible solution to end insurgency. God foresaw there will be conflict like this and many more, that was why He provided solutions to it through dialogue.

What do you think about the increasing rate of divorce in the church today and in your own opinion, what has gone wrong with the church of God?
Nothing is wrong with the true church of God but the unbelievers within the church. The increasing rate of divorce in the church today is as a result un-christian marriages, false teachings and signs of the end of time.
These are the major contributing factors to the increasing rate of divorce in the church today. What I mean by un-christian  marriage is marriage between an unbeliever and a believer. This has been the basis for most failed marriages in the church. The Holy Bible warns all true Christians not to be yoked with unbelievers.
As long as this is God’s position and demarcation for the believers and unbelievers, then anything that is contrary to this violates the law of God and there will be no peace. There are increased marriages between believers and unbelievers in the church today for so many reasons that are rooted in fleshly activities or convictions. Life in the flesh, and not in the spirit, is one of the reasons responsible for  increased divorce in the church today.
We must take note that there was the Jewish church which is different from today’s Christian church. The Jewish was operating under Judaism and not under Christianity. In fact, the Jewish church was under the law while the Christian church operates under grace; “For the law was given through Moses.
Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:27). The context of ‘divorce’ in the Jewish church has it’s root in Deuteronomy 24:1-4; while  the context against divorce is found in Malachi 2:10–16 and there are reasons attached to every position which are best explained in the Holy Bible.
The contexts of divorce in the New Testament and the old Testament are different. Jesus and Paul gave their context as follows: Matthew 19:1-12, Jesus said that divorce is only possible if there is marital unfaithfulness. While Paul in 1Corinthians 7:14-17 spoke of marriage between an unbeliever and believer whereby if the unbeliever is leaving the believer, let it be so. Therefore, the context of divorce in the Jewish church is possible even with a lesser reason that is, if a man sees anything detestable in a woman that he marries, he can divorce her and this is the position of Hillel School of Thought as against the Shamei School of Thought, which acknowledges divorce only on the basis of adultery.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:15-17 was dealing with the case of marriage between an unbeliever and a believer where he made it clear that if there is marriage between the two, the believing Christian, whether the husband or wife, must not divorce his wife but remain with them because God may use the believer to lead the other to Christ.
But if the unbeliever decides to leave because of the other partner’s Christian faith, then it is permissible based on faith differences as II Corinthians 6:14–16 clearly stated. It is allowed by the church according to (1 Corinthians 7:15 – 17).
Marriage between the believer and unbeliever will remain foreign and without harmony, agreement and peace  as entailed within the Christian context. Marriage within Jewish church was for those who practise Judaism while marriage within the Christian church is primarily intended for only genuine Christians who are led by the Holy Spirit of God (Galatians 5:22-26).
And so, there are only two grounds for divorce and they are as follows: firstly,  adultery and until the other party is not ready to forgive or else they must remain till death do them part (Matthew 19:1-12). Secondly, marriage between an unbeliever and believer because they are operating on different laws of life that do not conform to one another and so they cannot really coexist.
In the Jewish church, the first reason above can be inclusive as a reason for divorce which is the Shamei position but with the Hilliel school of thought, everything goes in regards to divorce, but it is not so in Christianity.

Do you think Christians and Muslims can still co-exist as they were in the past before in Kaduna division set in?
I am very much convinced that it is possible for Christians and Muslims to co-exist again because the initial peaceful co-existence which existed before the division still lies in our hearts everyday, anywhere and anytime.
So if we are willing, surely we can; but if we are not willing, then it is impossible because we all know that the choice is ours. Christians and Muslims are only refusing to do the right thing for our peaceful co-existence and this is simply because of selfishness, pride, anger, evil intentions, false teachings, lack of true knowledge of God’s word, vengeance and all kinds of sentiments. We have shut our hearts to the issue of co-existing peacefully.

What is the role of religious leaders in ensuring peace amongst the people?
The role of religious leaders in ensuring peace amongst the people cannot be over emphasised because they are the most prominent of all compared to the other leaders in the society. This is because almost 99 per cent of Nigerians are part of the two major faiths in Nigeria which are Islam and Christianity.
Religious leaders are people that are respected by Nigerians and Nigerians are willing to listen and obey them. Apart from that, almost all Nigerians are under them and their spiritual influence which affects their physical lives.
Religious leaders can influence Nigerians to live in peace and harmony and they can also incite war and instability by their teachings. Therefore, when it comes to issues of peace, the religious leaders are at the forefront in peace building and it’s promotion. As to whether the religious leaders are playing the roles expected of them, I will say some are playing their roles while some are not.