By Reuben Kigame
Claims of direct phone conversations with God are not new, but they continue to resurface in ever more sensational forms.
Recently, David Owuor has publicly suggested that he engages in conversations with God, a claim that is neither original nor spiritually profound.
Such assertions fall squarely within the long and troubling tradition of religious conmanship dressed up as divine intimacy.
Psychologically, these claims resemble illusions of grandeur masquerading as Christian experience, and theologically, they represent outright heresy.
Having encountered similar movements since the early 1990s, I have learned that these episodes have little to do with spiritual anointing and everything to do with manipulation carried out in the name of God.
Across Africa, the idea of exclusive revelation has grown increasingly bizarre, drifting between doctrinal error and financial exploitation.
A striking example emerged in Zimbabwe when a Harare-based pastor, Paul Sanyangore—popularly known as Pastor Talent—claimed to possess God’s personal telephone number.
In interviews, he confidently declared that he could call God directly for instructions and guidance, insisting that this privilege was no different from the experiences of biblical figures such as Abraham.
He urged his congregants to aspire to similar communication, presenting it as a spiritual right rather than an extraordinary and unverifiable claim.
Pastor Talent went further, announcing plans for a television program titled Heaven Online, where he would broadcast his conversations with heaven.
He also promised to give worshippers an opportunity to speak directly to God during a prophetic church service, provided they met certain conditions of purity.
As with many such claims, the unspoken implication was clear: access to heaven would not be free, and the familiar call to “plant a seed” hovered just beneath the surface.
History has shown that when revelation is commercialized, faith is the first casualty.
For Christians, such claims should not come as a surprise since the scripture itself warns that false prophets will arise, deceiving many and exploiting believers through fabricated stories driven by greed.
These warnings are not abstract theological ideas; they are practical cautions meant to guard against precisely the kind of spiritual theatrics that elevate individuals above Christ and replace the Gospel with spectacle.
The Bible consistently condemns any message that deviates from the core of the Christian faith, regardless of whether it claims divine origin or angelic endorsement.
Under the banner of prophecy, anointing, and deliverance, people have been persuaded to engage in acts that defy reason and dignity, including consuming harmful substances, surrendering property, and submitting to gross abuse by cult leaders.
In Kenya and elsewhere, such movements have left trails of trauma, disillusionment, and death.
The problem is not belief itself, but unexamined belief placed in charismatic figures who demand unquestioning loyalty.
One of the most effective antidotes to such deception is personal engagement with Scripture.
Faith that depends entirely on Sunday sermons or televised revelations is vulnerable faith.
When believers read the Bible for themselves, in context and with discernment, they are better equipped to recognize distortion and manipulation.
Spiritual maturity requires responsibility, not passive consumption of religious claims.
The dangers of exclusive revelation are tragically illustrated by the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God in Uganda.
What began as alleged visions and apparitions in the 1980s culminated in one of the most horrifying cult disasters in modern African history.
After failed predictions of the apocalypse, hundreds of followers perished in a mass inferno in the year 2000, while others were murdered under unclear circumstances.
The leaders had convinced their followers that salvation was exclusive to their movement and that the end of the world was imminent.
These stories serve as sober reminders that claims of direct access to God, when unchecked, can lead to spiritual tyranny and human catastrophe.
Believers must remain vigilant, grounded in Scripture, and unafraid to question voices that demand reverence reserved for Christ alone.
Faith flourishes not in secrecy and spectacle, but in truth, humility, and discernment.
Editor’s note: This is an edited and shortened version of Reuben Kigame’s “From having God’s phone number to WhatsApp chats with heaven”.