A pastor in South Africa is being sued over a resurrection stunt which has since gone viral and further raised questions about the authenticity of pastoral miracles.
The lawsuit stems from a recent video in which Alph Lukau convinces his congregation that he successfully brought a man back from the dead. The pastor of Alleluia Ministries is seen standing over an open casket, touching the “deceased” individual before shouting, “rise up!” The man inside the coffin then sits up, as onlookers begin to cheer.
A video of a pastor claiming to raise a man from the dead has gone viral on social media. @AndyvanWyk #NewsNight Courtesy #DStv403 pic.twitter.com/jsX6YJr3Cw
— eNCA (@eNCA) February 25, 2019
The video was filmed outside Lukau’s church in Johannesburg.
Since the hoax went viral, the BBC reports Kingdom Blue, Kings & Queens Funeral Services, and Black Phoenix are taking legal action against Lukau for allegedly staging the stunt and tricking them into being involved. Lukau reportedly got the coffin from Kingdom Blue and placed Black Phoenix stickers on a private car in an attempt to “look credible to Kings & Queens Funeral Services” when they arrived to order a hearse.
“There are no such things as miracles,” the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities told South Africa’s national broadcaster.
According to several news reports, Alleluia Ministries has backtracked on Lakau’s resurrection claims, and insists the man in the coffin was “already alive” when he arrived to the church in Kramerville, Sandton. The ministry cays the pastor simply “completed a miracle that God had already started.”
