STERLING BANK’S ATTACK ON THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS

…African Christian journalists demand a proper apology in ten national dailies

… doubt banks respect Christ and Christians

… say Christians’ forgiving spirit should not be seen as a sign of weakness

The Network of African Christian Journalists (NACJOURN), has demanded a thorough investigation and proper apology over the Easter infographics published by Sterling Bank PLC, comparing the resurrection of Jesus to Agege Bread.

The group also condemned the apology which the bank first published with the title: … let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone.’… describing it as insensitive, irresponsible and an abuse of apology.

President of the association, Dr. Adebola Adewara on Easter Monday, said the ramifications of the infographics and the apology were abusive on the person of Jesus Christ and a slap on all Christians in Nigeria.

“The resurrection of Jesus, which the bank compared to Agege Bread, is the basis of our Christian faith. Without it, there is no Christianity. It is the highest point, the climax of our faith and existence which no Christian toys with.

It is a sad thing that this is the same point the bank decided to attack by reducing it to Agege Bread joke.

‘With their workforce comprising of both religions, the bank knows that if they dare do such to other religions, no branch of the bank would still be standing today.

But Christianity is an easy target for them because of the forgiving attitude of Jesus Christ that has cultured Christians and would not push them into violent reactions against the bank and whatever they stand for.

‘It is against this that we warn that no organisation in and out of Nigeria should see the forgiving spirit of Christians as weakness and inability to react. We were trained to turn the other cheek, not because we don’t have swords like Peter to cut off the ears of Malchus, but because God can fight our battles faster, better and with dire consequences on the offender, more than we can. And unto God, we commit this infraction on the summit of our faith.

“Rather than lie prostrate and make profuse apologies for the blunderous infographic, the bank went ahead to say anybody who has not sinned should cast the first stone.

“This is like rubbing salt on an injury. This makes us believe that the infographics are a deliberate action to rubbish resurrection. Christians in Africa should think again about this bank’s respect for Jesus and Christianity, Adewara said.

“We, as the body of Christian journalists in all of Africa, are ready to mount a sustained campaign against the bank and whatever it represents, if the bank does not show enough remorse for this unprovoked attack on our faith.

“As a measure to attenuate this bitterness and trigger our forgiving disposition, we demand a proper full-page apology to be published in at least ten national newspapers in Nigeria and on the social media handles of the bank.

‘We also ask the bank to dismiss from service the very people involved in this disgraceful attack on the resurrection,” Adewara demanded.