When a ‘Misogynist’ Leads a Credulous Congregation | The Case of Archbishop Duncan Williams

In order to set the grounds and bring you to date with the recent development which has made this article necessary, let’s quickly consider the background.

One of the most powerful men of God in the West Africa country-Ghana who by might and supposed God’s anointing has found himself in charge of if not the biggest, one of the biggest chapels in the capital openly ridiculed women last Sunday to the total acceptance of his many congregants, shockingly the women.

And his bigot statements took their roots from the Bible as he had a biblical quotation to illustrate how unworthy women are—‘as 7 women are for one man’.

Archbishop Duncan Williams (note his title) is reported to have said (also on video);

“It’s a privilege to be married. It’s a privilege in the time we live in when it’s seven [women] to one man’’

“Sister when you get married, be thankful and stop misbehaving because it’s seven to one. It doesn’t matter how pretty and beautiful and intelligent you are; until a man proposes to you, you are going to stay beautiful, pretty, intelligent, nice and whatever, and rotten”.

“That’s what it is, and somebody needs to tell you because there [are] so many women out there misbehaving. You got to be told the truth. And the reason why a lot of marriages are not working is because everybody is afraid to offend women to tell them: ‘Come on girl, you got a good thing going, hold fast onto it, don’t misbehave and don’t lose it’”.

“And somebody says: ‘How about the men?’ They got issues too but you see, the fact of the matter is that a man can be 100 years old and marry again if he ‘moves’. A man can be 100 years and marry if he can ‘drive’. But a woman just can’t get married at a particular age. [It] gets to a place [where] everything begins to melt and you can’t marry just because you want to marry”,

“It is what it is, and sometimes we don’t want to hear the truth. We get offended when the truth is said, but I have come to a place [where] I tell people that I have lost my reputation a long time ago, and so it doesn’t really matter whether you like me or you don’t like me, and I don’t preach to impress people anymore. I stopped doing that a long time ago. I deliver what I’m told to deliver, and whether you receive it or not is none of my business; it’s your business”, he said.

Since its inception, religion (especially Christianity and Islam) has treated women with gross contempt and still considers our sisters, mothers and wives as inferior—unworthy of a lot. It’s therefore not much of a shock for many of us that certain positions in the church cannot be occupied by even the most intelligent amongst women, for the mere fact that the person is a woman.

Look around the world to the poor regions and even though the solution to poverty simply lies in elevating women, any attempt to enforce women empowerment has and will be met with the clergy’s objection. For many years, religion backed by its holy books has and continues to oppress women—with some of the alleged great works and roles played by women like Mary Magdalene even disappearing from the Bible.

The very holy books based on which the two aforementioned religions operate have no idea and acknowledgement of the concept of equality—and fails to recognise the important roles women have in society by pushing them behind the veil. Women are positioned as helpers of men, with no real purpose in life—except the one I have just noted.

Considering the era in which these religious texts were written, you could forgive them for the way and manner they view women, but if in a 21st century democratic Ghana, a Bishop in charge of thousands of congregants can make the above statements with strong reliance on the bible—it surely must be met with anger and be treated with the same gross contempt it came with.

My worry is deeply embedded in the fact that, the same women that the church and for this particular instance, this ‘misogynistic’ Bishop condemned and regarded as worth nothing without men would comfortably sit and smile to the message—and even defend him from those of us who would attempt to stamp down his message.

Weirdly, if a politician or a teacher made the same statements about women, a large section of the receiving population (both men and women) would condemn the message and call for the crucifixion of the person. Of course, after they’ve measured his statement against reason and have evaluated the statement’s disconnect from the many women empowerment attitudes and doctrines our human race through law and secularism have strongly bestowed on women.

Even in Putin’s Russia, if Vladimir came up with such a misogynistic statements, they will be met with contempt—and opinion polls will sway against him. Yet, another human being says this (even if with Biblical references) and he stands unopposed, his message cannot be challenged by the very women he seeks to discredit, belittle or oppress.

It’s time the undeserving immunity and sacred status religion and its leaders enjoy from criticism and reasonable evaluation is removed. We should measure religion with the same rod of strength, reason and critical thinking used in assessing politics, philosophy, art, law and other equally important disciplines of our lives.

The level of absurd credulity that many people of faith have found themselves in has no place in this era—  and even the ‘Palaeolithic Age’ would certainly not pride itself with it.

As I attempt to hobble through the contemptuous manner religion regards and treats women, an extension of which Duncan Williams paraded, let’s be clear that Islam may be seen as doing it worst but Christianity does it best.

Have you ever wondered why Islam and Christianity eschew the women development topic? Let’s throw some few cushions under our women, give them the needed support and see if great improvements will not be recorded—poverty will certainly disappear.

Instead, in line with the ancient texts, Duncan Williams and many men (those in high religious positions and those who are part of the flock) relentlessly remind women that their historical position has not changed and they are mere ribs of men, a woman is just here to become the helper of the man. Quoting from my recent article, “the institution called Church is patriarchal, has been and will forever be.”

You are right to be offended by the message of Bishop Duncan Williams because such statements have no place in our today’s world but if a book full of myths and ‘legendary stories’ will be credited as coming from a celestial creator despite its internal inconsistency—then such teachings cannot be escaped because the Bible has them in there.

It’s for this reason and many others that some of us agree with Sam Harris, that “the doctrines of modern religions are no more tenable than those which, for lack of adherents, were cast upon the scrap heap of mythology millennia ago.”

For those who were shocked by Duncan Williams’ statements, do not forget the message came from God through him for you—and if this shocked you, I believe you may not have come across the below message from the Bible, which God asks you to stone to death your siblings or anyone who comes to you with an idea of worshipping a different God—perhaps, it includes me.

“If your brother, the son of your father or of your mother, or your son or daughter, or the spouse whom you embrace, or your most intimate friend, tries to secretly seduce you, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods,” unknown to you or your ancestors before you, gods of the peoples surrounding you, whether near you or far away, anywhere throughout the world, you must not consent, you must not listen to him; you must show him no pity, you must not spare him or conceal his guilt. No, you must kill him, your hand must strike the first blow in putting him to death and the hands of the rest of the people following. You must stone him to death, since he has tried to divert you from Yahweh your God.” [Deuteronomy 13:7–11]