POJU OYEMADE AND THE STRANGE THEOLOGY OF SOUNDS THAT ATTRACT DEMONS (PART III)

“When an Anecdote Supplants the Word of God”

By Akin Ojumu

In Part II of this commentary, we examined the biblical evidence—or, more precisely, the complete absence of biblical evidence—for Poju Oyemade’s extraordinary claim that murmuring attracts demons while thanksgiving and praise attract angels.

We established that the fiery serpents sent against the rebellious Israelites in Numbers 21 were instruments of God's judgment, not demons responding to supernatural soundwaves generated by human complaints.

We also established that angels are ministering spirits sent by God according to His sovereign will, not celestial creatures who gather wherever they detect the sounds of praise and thanksgiving.

Neither the Lord Jesus Christ nor His Apostles taught that demons are attracted to complaining or that angels are summoned by thanksgiving.

Yet, Poju Oyemade presented these extraordinary propositions to an audience of young Christians as though they were established spiritual principles.

And what was the source of this supposed revelation?

An American preacher’s interpretation of something that allegedly happened during a hunting expedition.

But the theological problems do not end there.

Oyemade went even further, suggesting that a Christian who praises God in difficult circumstances effectively discourages satanic attacks.

Apparently, even Satan understands that a Christian who maintains the correct spiritual sound is dangerous prey.

Now, let’s examine this claim in the light of Scripture.

PRAISE DOES NOT MAKE CHRISTIANS IMMUNE TO SATANIC ATTACK

According to Oyemade, when a believer praises God in difficult circumstances, Satan recognizes that the person is not trapped and that attacking such an individual would be dangerous.

Again, where is that written?

Did the Lord Jesus Christ not live in perfect obedience to His Father? Was His communion with God not flawless? Did He ever demonstrate sinful murmuring or rebellious ingratitude?

Yet, Satan tempted Him in the wilderness.

And what about the Apostle Paul?

The very Apostle who instructed Christians to rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances endured relentless affliction, persecution, imprisonment, and satanic opposition.

In 2 Corinthians 12:7, Paul explicitly described his affliction as a messenger of Satan sent to harass him.

2 Corinthians 12:7

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.”

Was it because Paul had failed to produce the appropriate spiritual sound? Had he inadvertently attracted demonic attention by grumbling?

Of course not!

The Christian life is not governed by some mystical formula in which praise guarantees immunity from satanic opposition and complaints automatically invite demonic attack.

The Lord Jesus taught His disciples to expect tribulation in the world.

John 16:33

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Paul taught that suffering is part of the believer’s calling.

Philippians 1:29

“For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.”

Peter warned Christians not to be surprised by the fiery trials that come upon them.

1 Peter 4:12

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

And James instructed believers to count it all joy when they encounter trials of various kinds.

James 1:2

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.”

None of these passages suggests that faithful believers can eliminate satanic opposition by maintaining the correct acoustic atmosphere.

Indeed, the idea that praise functions as a protective sound against demonic attacks bears far more resemblance to superstition than to the New Testament’s teaching about spiritual warfare.

If praising God automatically makes Christians unattractive targets for satanic attacks, then how does Poju Oyemade explain the suffering of the Lord Jesus, the persecution of the Apostles, and the afflictions of faithful believers throughout the history of the Church?

Were they all making the wrong sounds? Were their thanksgiving frequencies too low? Did they fail to generate sufficient quantities of spiritual noise to frighten Satan away? 

Or could it simply be that the entire theory has absolutely no foundation in Scripture?

The answer should be obvious to anyone willing to allow the Word of God to speak for itself.

THE MANUFACTURE OF THEOLOGICAL SUPERSTITION

And this brings us back to the central problem with Oyemade’s sermon.

The theological claim he promotes rests upon an unsubstantiated anecdote supposedly shared with him by an American preacher.

That is the foundation.

Not Scripture. Not apostolic teaching. Not the words of Christ.

A HUNTING STORY.

An American preacher allegedly experienced something unusual while hunting with a bishop. He interpreted the event as a revelation from God. He shared that supposed revelation with Oyemade.

Oyemade then took the private impression, sprinkled a few biblical passages over it, and presented the resulting theological invention to an audience of young Christians.

What began as an anecdote in the wilderness arrived at the pulpit wearing the robes of divine authority.

And this is precisely the disease afflicting large sections of contemporary Christianity.

Personal experiences are routinely elevated above the written Word of God. Unverifiable revelations are treated as though they carry apostolic authority.

Every unusual occurrence becomes a spiritual metaphor. Every coincidence becomes a prophetic revelation. Every imaginative interpretation becomes a doctrine.

A preacher has a dream, and suddenly the Church has a new spiritual principle.

Another hears a voice, and believers are handed a new law governing the supernatural realm.

Someone goes hunting, discovers that animal sounds can attract predators, and the next thing you know, Christians are being instructed in the spiritual acoustics of demons and angels.

And because the man standing behind the pulpit is addressed as Pastor, Apostle, Prophet, Daddy, or G.O., nobody is supposed to ask the most elementary question:

WHERE IS THAT TAUGHT IN SCRIPTURE?

The Bereans were commended in Acts 17:11 because they examined the Scriptures daily to determine whether Paul’s teaching was true.

Think about that.

They subjected the teaching of an actual Apostle of Jesus Christ to the authority of Scripture.

Yet, in our generation, we are expected to swallow the unsubstantiated revelations of American hunters merely because a popular Nigerian preacher has repeated them from a pulpit.

How did we get here?

How did we arrive at a place where the imagination of a preacher carries more weight than the inspired text of Scripture?

How did the Church become so enamored with spectacular stories that the plain meaning of God’s Word is no longer sufficient?

And how did an exhortation to abound in thanksgiving become a lecture on the feeding habits of demons?

WHEN EXPERIENCE BECOMES THEOLOGY

The most troubling aspect of this entire episode is that Oyemade was addressing young Christians—people who should be taught how to read Scripture carefully, understand its context, distinguish biblical doctrine from human speculation, and test every teaching against the written Word of God.

Instead, they were served a supernatural hunting tale repackaged as Christian theology.

Let me conclude with something that ought to be elementary to anyone who handles the Word of God.

An anecdote is not revelation. A private impression is not biblical doctrine. An imaginative spiritual analogy is not sound exegesis.

And no amount of shouting, dramatic storytelling, or religious enthusiasm can transform an unverified hunting experience into a binding truth for the Church of Jesus Christ.

God has not instructed His people to build their theology on the supposed revelations of men who spent six hours hiding in the bush making animal noises.

He has given us His written Word.

2 Timothy 3:16–17

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

The Word is sufficient to equip believers for every good work.

And if a preacher cannot demonstrate his claims from Scripture, he has no business presenting them as truths revealed by God. And he has no business being on the pulpit either.

The pulpit is not a laboratory for experimenting with the spiritual implications of hunting anecdotes. It is a place for proclaiming the Word of God.

What Poju Oyemade has done here is not merely indulge in an extravagant illustration. 

He has taken an unsubstantiated personal story, clothed it in the language of divine revelation, attached it to passages of Scripture that do not teach it, and presented the resulting theological invention to an audience of young believers.

He has manufactured doctrine out of an anecdote. He has constructed a theology out of a whole cloth of a hunter’s experience.

And that is the heart of the problem.

When a preacher is permitted to turn an animal distress call into a divine revelation about demons, there is practically no limit to what can be smuggled into the Church under the authority of “God told me.”

Today, it is a hunting expedition. Tomorrow, it could be a dream, a vision, a business transaction, or an encounter with a roadside mechanic.

And with sufficient imagination, a confident voice, eloquence of speech, and a sprinkling of Bible verses, virtually anything can be transformed into a revelation from heaven.

This is what happens when experience becomes theology and Scripture becomes an afterthought.

The Bible is no longer the authority by which claims are tested. It becomes the decorative wrapping used to make those claims appear legitimate.

The preacher’s imagination becomes the source of revelation, while Scripture is reduced to a collection of convenient quotations used to baptize whatever fantastical idea has captured his attention.

And the congregation, rather than being equipped to discern truth from error, is conditioned to mistake theological novelty for spiritual depth.

This is not how the Lord Jesus taught His disciples. This is not how the Apostles established the Church. And this is certainly not what it means to rightly handle the Word of truth.

Christian theology is not constructed from the adventures of American hunters, the emotional impressions of charismatic personalities, or the creative interpretations of men who believe every unusual experience conceals a mysterious spiritual law.

Christian theology must be derived from the written Word of God.

The Word is the standard. The Word is the authority. The Word is the measure by which every doctrine, every revelation, every spiritual claim, and every preacher must be tested.

Not dreams. Not visions. Not hunting expeditions.

THE WORD OF GOD.

And if that doesn’t trouble you, I genuinely do not know what will.