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THE Bishop of the Somanya Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana, Rt Rev. Alfred N.O. Aryeetey, has advised Ghanaians to stop pointing accusing fingers at only politicians as being corrupt.

He said as much as politicians might be corrupt, the whole society had been infected with corruption and it was time that Christians who were the light of the world and salt of the earth disassociated themselves from corrupt practices.

He said  Christians must lead their lives devoid of corrupt practices  such that they could influence society for the better.

“We cannot accuse government officials, including ministers, as the only corrupt people whereas we Christians are all part of it in one way or another,” he said.

He explained that statistics based on the 2012 general election showed that 70 per cent of the Ghanaian population were Christians, who attend many churches across the country and so the level of corruption going on could not be attributed to only politicians.

“I am not holding brief for politicians as people who might not be corrupt, but my point is that they are not the only people who are corrupt as we perceive [them to be],” he stressed.

Rt Rev. Aryeetey was speaking at the 12th Synod of the Somanya Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana at Dodowa in the Shai-Osudoku District.

This year’s synod was on the theme: “Witnessing to Christ-Holistic Spirituality Church Growth”.

He said Ghanaians looked at corruption from the point of view of government officials and people in all kinds of leadership positions only but forgot that the taxes evaded in order to deny the government revenue was also corruption.

He added that as Christians, they should recognise who they believed and followed and avoid being part and parcel of corrupt practices so their lifestyles would influence those who indulged in corruption to stop it and, by so doing, win souls for Christ.

Rt Rev. Aryeetey emphasised that influencing revenue collectors of the assemblies and the government anywhere to reduce what they were to pay also amounted to corruption and that was why some of such people, either those who were influenced or those who influenced, must stop, adding, “You cannot take Christians out of this practice.”

The Diocesan Bishop said the members of the Church and Christians in general must not take their outward appearance as a means of serving God but exhibit quality lifestyles that would attract others to Christ.

He seized the opportunity to advise men to support women to bring up their children instead of leaving the women to endure the hardship alone.         

At the end of the three-day programme, the synod elected Mrs Agnes Attipoe, a 55-year-old Deputy Director of Education, as the new Lay Chairman for the Somanya Diocese.

Mrs Attipoe was once the steward of the Somanya Wesley Cathedral of the Methodist Church Ghana.

In her acceptance speech, she thanked the delegates at the synod for the confidence reposed in her for she had been made Lay Chairman for the next three years.