Since his sole, self-appointed mission to ‘Free The Sheeple’ (read Free The People) from the mosaic law of tithing, controversial and blunt-talking On-Air-Personality, Freeze, has been the butt of insults and invectives from some of Nigeria’s foremost pastors; no less, surprisingly, the restrained Pastor Adeboye of Redeemed Christian Church of God. As far as the pastors are concerned, Daddy Freeze has no scriptural locus standi to advise people not to pay tithes.
Particularly, Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo, Senior Pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) has gone head-on with the OAP. At a recent programme in a popular church in Omole, Ikeja, Lagos, mid-November, Pastor Ashimolowo called Daddy Freeze a drunk and wife beater. But that did not make the headlines, alas. Ruffled, perhaps, that he did not hit target, Pastor Ashimolowo, during a recent sermon said to thunderous applause; “Once and for all, let’s settle this matter on the power of the tithe. Some bunch of yoyo somewhere should not determine what you pay. Some guy who beats his wife, throws her out, throws his children out of the house, broke his son’s knees, should not determine what we believe. He drinks alcohol, sleeps with women and he’s trying to preach.” Jeez!!! Characteristically, Daddy Freeze did not let this slide as he had done to some other lesser known pastors who weighed in on the matter.
In a viral video, he asked in mock incredulity, “Haaaaaa! Has it come to this? See the way he is defending tithing with so much passion, I hope this same passion is extended to bringing home our brothers who are currently enslaved in Libya. I didn’t hear ONE single bible verse, just sentiments and emotions in this defence. Who is this ‘Yoyo’ now? Mention his name make we know am. And I hope there is proof to back these allegations up and they are not just ‘hear say’ from a false interview conducted on an embattled pot of stale bitterleaf soup.” He continued, “Whoever the ‘yoyo’ is, one thing is certain, he cannot determine what the body of Christ believes, only the BIBLE can do that, so until you can come out with a superior argument to explain where Jesus our high priest, or the disciples our first pastors collected tithes, it looks like the ‘yoyo’ is the one speaking the biblical truth and no amount of subbing or name calling can override the scriptures.” Citing different versions of Luke 7:34, he said, “If the ‘yoyo’ drinks alcohol, let’s remember Jesus drank alcohol too…he was called a drunkard by the Pharisees; the teachers of religious law who burdened the people with unbearable religious yokes and put up similar fights when Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple! A man can’t be seen drinking pap, Fanta or lucozade and be called a drunkard, can he? Obviously, the end is not in sight as the tithing debate rages on, and with Pastors across the world gearing up to defend their cash-cow, sorry, belief.
