Caution - explicit content! But only to shine a light..

After a bit of umming and ahhing, I've decided to post about a shocking, high profile court case and sentencing that's been a big talking point here. 

It's always a difficult call about whether a mission partner should do this, because of proper, ethical concerns about how we portray the place in which we've been so graciously invited to serve. I mean, imagine.... if you're from the UK, for example, and happen upon a blog written by a Fijian minister based in the UK, would you want your homeland to be portrayed by him or her entirely through the worst UK news stories, issues of disgrace and bad Church practice s/he's happened upon? Of course not.

So let me be very clear. This post is not a sly attempt to portray Fiji or the wider Pacific negatively. Look back on almost three years of posts here and I think you'll be rapidly convinced about how much we have to admire and rejoice about. The point of the post is that the case relates very specifically to biblical interpretation and theological education; my world, largely, both of which feature in detail in the courtroom cross-examinations. That's quite unusual.

Let's start with a Fiji Times summary of events from 28th June which fills in the picture. Nothing that gives glory to God here, sadly.

'A breach of trust'

Aqela Susu
Wednesday, June 28, 2017

This was the comment by High Court judge Justice Salesi Temo while sentencing Jezreel Lion of Judah Ministry leader Jone Cokanauto at the High Court in Suva yesterday."YOU are really a wolf in sheep's clothing. You must not complain when your liberty is taken away."

Cokanauto was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for raping, attempting to rape and indecently assaulting four women from his ministry between 2005 and 2012.

Passing sentence, Justice Temo told Cokanauto what he did was a serious breach of trust. He said in iTaukei communities in Fiji the dominant religion was Christianity and its teachings were worshipped on most weekdays and Sundays year in and year out. He said moral values and standards were gained and followed as a result of the teachings from the Bible.

"You as the head of the Jezreel Lion of Judah Ministry had done the unthinkable," Justice Temo said.

"You have twisted and misinterpreted the woman of Samaria's story to entrap vulnerable young women. You have twisted the living water Jesus offered to mean your sperm.

"You reclassified the woman of Samaria not as an evangelist, but as a prostitute. You then taught that to be purified as the Temple of God, you need to have sex with them. By your web of deceit, you have committed various sexual offences against your own followers.

"In fact you have taught and practised in exactly the opposite ways that Saint John said in chapter 4 verses 1 to 42. You have seriously breached the trust your female complainants had in you."

In noting that the ministry had been in existence for the past 17 years, having being established in 2000, Justice Temo said Cokanauto's offending in totality showed he carefully planned his offences throughout the years.

"Through your offending you had shown no regard to the complainants' rights not to be harmed.

"You have violated their trust in you. You have cunningly used the Bible to further your evil deeds," he said.

Justice Temo sentenced Cokanauto to 16 years for each of the five counts of rape, two years each for four counts of indecent assault and five years for one count of attempted rape.

He ordered that the sentences in count one of rape (16 years), count four of indecent assault (two years) and count six also of indecent assault (two years) to be served consecutively bringing the total to 20 years imprisonment.

So that's what many in Fiji have been talking about; not least because the Gospel of John chapter 4. 1-30 and its interpretation by the convicted pastor took biblical centre stage in embarrassingly graphic detail. A reputed biblical scholar was called in, formerly on the staff of our neighbouring Catholic College, Pacific Regional Seminary, and his theological statements have been widely reported. The following extract is from the Fiji Sun newspaper.

Prosecution witness five:

Reverend Dr Donal McIlraith

Reverend McIlraith, who had been a lecturer in scripture at the Pacific Regional Seminary for 28 years, told the court that John Chapter 4 is about the Samaritan woman.

Reverend McIlraith, who has studied the Hebrew and Greek language in which the original Bible is written, told the court that John Chapter 4 is divided into three parts.

Mr Vosawale asked Rev McIlraith if the chapter involved sexual relations between Jesus and the Samaritan woman.

Reverend McIlraith said: “Absolutely not, it’s purely a dialogue Jesus tried, to interest her in faith and it’s not about giving or taking anything.

“There is nothing about sexuality in this passage and is merely a conversation about water.

“The water has two meanings; one is the ordinary water from the well and second is the living water which is probably the Holy Spirit that Jesus offers.”

He further confirmed to the court that the living water does not involve semen from a man.

During cross-examination Mr Valenitabua asked Reverend McIlraith how could one be redeemed of their sins of adultery. He replied saying that firstly the person needed to confess to God and have it forgiven and then they should move on with their lives.

“Confession means I am sorry and I promise to do my level best not to do it again with the Lord’s help,” the Reverend said.

“If you do it again then that means you’re not serious with your repentance.”

Reverend McIlraith told the court that the point of the whole story in John Chapter 4 is that a woman moves from no faith to faith in Jesus.

“The Gospel was written for somebody to have faith in Jesus,” he said.

He was further questioned by Justice Temo regarding the evidence given by the alleged victims that the water of life is equated with a sperm of a man.

“The phrase ‘water of everlasting life’ is not the same as the semen of a man and I have never come across that interpretation in my life,” said Reverend McIlraith.

Justice Temo also asked him if the women in that chapter were equated to the temple of God.

“In John’s gospel Chapter 2, Jesus is the new temple and in Saint Paul every Christian is the temple of God,” he said.

It was further stated by Justice Temo that some of the prosecution witnesses had said that they were told that they were the temple of God and that they needed to be purified and cleansed by a man’s semen.

“I have never in my life heard of that interpretation and the cleansing of a woman by a man’s semen has no basis in the scripture,” said Reverend McIlraith.

Edited by Karalaini Waqanidrola

Feedback:  jessica.gounder@fijisun.com.fj

So, you get the sordid picture? The explicit media coverage has also been a source of wounding to many culturally. 'We never used to hear of these things in this way'. 

An analysis of the factors that cause someone, in this case a trusted pastor, to stray so very, very far from the way of Jesus could fill up this blog for a lifetime. We're not even going to start on topics such as autocracy, psychology, deviancy, self-deception, addiction, victim vulnerability etc. And I'm merely sharing news from Government endorsed media already in the public domain, which has its advantages and disadvantages. When I share here about the 'accused', the 'victims', the 'church' , it's without personal encounter with any of them in flesh and blood.

Overall though, here's the sharpest nail in the cross for me, in Justice Temo's words:

You have cunningly used the Bible to further your evil deeds

Absolutely terrifying. 

So, here's a three-fold appeal. It's hardly new. And it's certainly not just meant for Fiji.

1. Can we please get real, yet again, about the holy and intelligent handling of precious, sacred texts? 

2. Can we remind ourselves, yet again, that sacred texts are divine gifts deserving of the best, not the worst, we can bring to them in terms of human reception, analysis and discernment? 

3. Can we stop pretending that vulgar, outlandish and abusive interpretations are somehow the work of the Holy Spirit?

Can we? 

Please?