Zetaheal, a spiritual church started by a woman, 31 years ago, unites Christians and Muslims to worship without conflict, on a continent full of religious conflicts. From the mission site in Zongo Junction, a suburb of the Ghanaian capital, Accra, Efam Dovi reports that the group disagrees with some generally accepted Christian teachings.
Hundreds of followers, men, women and children, all dressed in white and barefoot, knelt, facing east, in the great courtyard of the majestic white church, as the rooster crowed to signal another dawn. Inside the temple, all worshipers must remove their footwear.
Comfort Narh, known to his followers as Prophetess Lehem, presided over the first of seven prayer sessions designated for the day. Members prostrate as the leader approaches, splashing Florida Water and blessing them in the local dialect. Later in chorus they thanked him for his blessings.
Thirty-one years ago, Narh, who was then a tailor, said that he was ordered by angels to build a church that would unite Muslims and Christians to worship, so that peace would prevail in the world. He said that revelation saw the birth of Zetaheal, which he says is a Hebrew word meaning "lean on me for salvation".
"And that Christ was born on November 14 and not [December] 25 as most Christians know and Christ also died on November 11 [April] and his death is not a blessing because God was angry when Christ was killed and that we need to ask forgiveness," Opoku said. "Christ should have come to live with us and teach us the path of God that we must follow and earn our salvation, death is not salvation for mankind, but a curse for mankind, which has been straightened out by Zetaheal."
He said the Angel spoke directly to him and asked him to unite Christians and Muslims, because the founders of both religions, Jesus Christ and Prophet Muhammad, shared a common ancestor.
“Abraham had two sons – Isaac and Ishmael; Muhammad is descended from Ishmael and Jesus is descended from Isaac, so the two are brothers; Islam and Christianity come from one family,” explained Lehem. "We must unite the two before the world has peace."
During the service, those with a Christian background sit on chairs and benches, while those with a Muslim faith sit on mats, facing east. Followers also celebrate Ramadan, a Muslim festival.
Followers receive Islamic teachings on Fridays and Christian teachings on Sundays. Sermons are preached and interpreted in three Ghanaian languages, as well as English and Hausa. Children are also taught to read the Koran and the Bible. The congregation learns about the teachings of the Bible from a priest, as well as the teachings of the Koran from an Imam.
Opoku, an orthodox Christian, joined the mission 22 years ago. All of his children were born in the church. Nana Serwaa, 22, is the eldest daughter, who teaches Islam to children at church. He said that even as a child, he was never confused about the Zetaheal doctrine, saying he felt unique. She says she reads a lot and it helps her to better understand the two religions.
“There is a book I read, The Secret and Revelation of the Anti-Christ, and you can realize so many things in that book. There is a part like women is religion, who is that woman? That's when I knew that, yeah, I had that woman here at Zetaheal. Because in these last days it claims in [the book of] Revelation that a woman is a religion, so if I have it, I'm not confused, I'm very happy here, no need to be confused, and wide reading also helps," Serwaa said.
Followers have various reasons to join missions. Freddie Dankwa said he had unanswered questions that led him to Zetaheal.
Why did Christ come to die for us? Why did the prophet only come through the white race and not the black race? Christianity, the conflict we have," said Dankwa. "We know we have a soul as we were told in childhood and life after death, as one person says there is one, another says there is no life and so on."
He says he now has answers to all sorts of problems and says he knows God better now, than before being told to just believe.
Ramatu Lawal, a Muslim, is now one of the sect's more than 5,000 members. He was converted 28 years ago. Now he prays seven times a day, according to the teachings of Zetaheal, and said that the confusion between the two religions was due to a misunderstanding.
He said that if Muslims and Christians around the world were united, he believed the world would be a better place. He blamed the devil for the conflict between the two religions, and said the world needed to unite against the devil. He said Christians and Muslims would live in harmony if there was an understanding like they have in Zetaheal.
The mission says its magnificent church building, with its well-preserved complex, was built from its plantations. Members help out on the plantation during their free time and the proceeds are used to finance church activities.
He said the Angel spoke directly to him and asked him to unite Christians and Muslims, because the founders of both religions, Jesus Christ and Prophet Muhammad, shared a common ancestor.
“I joined as a Muslim,” said Muhammad Musah, a 25-year-old student.
“But I have learned so much about Christianity and understood it that I don't think of myself as a Muslim anymore, I belong to both; I belong to Zetaheal."
Said a recent convert to Zetaheal: “I never knew that the Muslim greeting, 'Asalaam alekum' means 'Peace be with you'. I thought it was something pagan until I went to Zetaheal; it's much better than Halo."
The Zetaheal choir sings in praise of Muhammad and Christ, as two equally great prophets sent to earth by the same God – or Allah.
His Excellency Dr. J.S.A. Stevens is a theologian, and previously President of the Methodist Church of Ghana. He worshiped with Zetaheal now and again.
Even though he's not a member, he says he's comfortable with their principles. “Much of this conflict between Christians and Muslims is unnecessary, because both religions worship the same creator and Zetaheal is for the glory of God.”
Islam and Christianity have existed as two separate religious sects that have flowed through the ages in parallel. Zetaheal shows that Christians and Muslims can worship together.
source : voanews, sakyi-addo
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