Live Snakes Taste Like Chocolate?

News Zimbabwe.com

Daily Mail July 20, 2015

An article from July, but I saw this on my Facebook feed this week.

From Jane Flanagan

Cited

'Penuel Mnguni, 27, told parishoners live snakes would taste like chocolate

Police arrested self-styled 'Prophet' after by animal charity SPCA saw the disturbing pictures of worshippers eating rare, protected snakes

'Miracle worker' Mngungi also turned one parishoner into a horse and rode on his back, fed another a purple rag 

Pastor faces charges for animal cruelty after he caught the Striped Skaapsteker in Shshanguve near Pretoria'

Cited 

'A priest in South Africa is facing trial for animal cruelty after he fed his congregation live snakes in a bizarre ritual to test their faith. Penuel Mnguni quoted verses from the Bible as he told his followers that mouthfuls of the reptiles would taste like chocolate. 

In extraordinary pictures the controversial priest, 27, performed 'miracles' by turning one parishoner into a horse and climbing on his back, he fed a young girl the hair of another worshipper and put a purple rag into the mouth of another.'

Cited

'Mnguni calls himself 'Prophet Penuel' and his congregation boast he is a 'man of God' with the power to perform miracles. They said he has the power to put worshippers into a trance and turn them into horses - and turn live snakes into chocolate.

The self-styled 'prophet' was arrested after South Africa's biggest animal charity, the SPCA tipped off police.

SPCA inspector Andrew Kekana said that Mnguni had caught protected snakes from the bush near the End Times Disciples Ministries Church in Shshanguve, north of Pretoria, South Africa.

Cited

The protected species, which grows to around of 60cm, is indigenous to South Africa and does not pose a threat to humans.

On the church's Facebook page, there are disturbing photos of worshippers performing humiliating acts to prove the strength of their belief.

On the site one parishoner wrote: 'Those with little faith eat only vegetables but the ones with a great faith eat everything. '

During the service the Man of God commanded a snake to change into a chocolate and it obeyed. People ate it and enjoyed it.'

Cited

'But the 'Prophet' has been accused on social media of being 'satanic'.

Morongwa Thapelo Chiloane wrote on Facebook: 'Eating a snake with a holy Bible in your hand? Satanic.'

Calvin Mokabane added: 'This young man is out of his mind. We should condemn this kind of satanic behaviour.'

Gift Murwisi added: 'You mustn't call him a pastor. People just want to be famous even if it means working with the devil. Jesus fed the hungry using common food. These people need spiritual food not snakes.'''

Cited '

'Following a brief court appearance, Mnguni was released on a bail of £75 and will reappear at a later date.''

New Zimbabwe.com

From Learnmore Zuze, September 5, 2015

Cited '

'Enough said; in the last months, there has been an on-going frenzy of bizarre miracles that has gripped southern Africa precisely. We have heard of ‘Atmosphere for miracles”, “Miracle centres’ and ‘Miracle clinics’, the list goes on. In essence, miracles have become the watchword with self-anointed apostles, bishops and prophets are now using their purported anointing in ways that are truly repugnant to the Bible.'

Cited

'It would appear a very critical and basic thing is being omitted in the purported miracles as preachers pursue the elusive dollar. People who teach the Bible have a duty to rightly interpret it. From a biblical perspective, nearly each miracle Jesus performed was done to meet a need and that is fundamental. No miracle was ever performed for the fun of it. Even when he was tempted to perform miracles on the mountain (by the devil) as a show-off, Jesus Christ resisted that temptation (Matt 4:6). Miracles that have no semblance to meeting the immediate needs of the people are ungodly and no different from the exploits of a magician entertaining high school children.

However, despite it being clearly at variance with the Bible, it would appear that it is becoming more fashionable to show off miracles.'

End Citations

Learnmore Zuze states: 'In essence, miracles have become the watchword with self-anointed apostles, bishops and prophets are now using their purported anointing in ways that are truly repugnant to the Bible.'

Self-anointed, yes. repugnant to the Bible, yes.

Biblical miracles met needs of persons, but I hold to the theology that they were also used by God to demonstrate divine power and foreshadow and demonstrate the complete future healing within the culminated Kingdom of God (Revelation 21-22).

'No miracle was ever performed for the fun of it. Even when he was tempted to perform miracles on the mountain (by the devil) as a show-off, Jesus Christ resisted that temptation (Matt 4:6). Miracles that have no semblance to meeting the immediate needs of the people are ungodly and no different from the exploits of a magician entertaining high school children.'

Yes, Jesus Christ resisted the temptation of the devil...

Matthew 4: 1-7 and Luke 4: 3-12: Jesus was tempted by the devil to perform miracles as a test of his divinity as the Son of God and Jesus rebuked the devil stating that the Lord your God should not be put to the test.

Luke 4 has a parallel account.

The miraculous was done Biblically within God's divine will in the promotion of the Kingdom of God and not in the context of divine test and not in the context of human fun. Jesus Christ resisted the temptation of miracles for personal human gain in this present realm, which quite obviously seems the very opposite motives of the extremely likely pseudo miracles of the South African 'Pastor'.

And I thought my newish primarily fruit and vegetable diet, breakfast and lunch, Monday to Friday was extreme...