Disciples: The Cult of TB Joshua
Content warning: cult mind control, nonconsensual sex, every kind of violence you can think of.
(I will return to The Guardians but it didn't feel right to be blogging about them with riots going on so instead here is a post I've been keeping in reserve for just such an occasion.)
It's been a while since we had a documentary and this is a truly magisterial one. It is in three parts, which I will be covering in a single blog post because I essentially have the same things to say about all three parts. It is also the most recent show I have ever written about, since it was published on the BBC News Africa YouTube channel in January 2024: obviously I'm well outside of my normal zone here but this is such an excellent documentary I really wanted it to be here.
The first part of the documentary is an extended introduction to the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos and its founder, TB Joshua. It also describes at length the familiar process of cult indoctrination as described by those who have experienced it. Essentially the main question raised by the entire documentary is how one man managed to have such control over other people and why people got and remained involved.
The second part goes into detail of the bizarre psychological, personal, sexual and otherwise abusive demands that TB Joshua made on his disciples. And there's some proper fucked up shit in this part. It touches on the steps Joshua took to ensure he had the authorities on his side so that he wouldn't face any consequences.
The final part covers the collapse of the residential building at the church which made the international news and the subsequent cover-up which you all knew was coming. It describes how the 'miracles' of healing were faked for the videos released by the church. Finally those who have escaped reflect on their experience and its impact on their lives. In some ways this is the most difficult part because the ex-members have to live with the realisation that people 'healed' by TB Joshua actually died because they then stopped taking medication, and that they knew this was a scam but still took part in it.
All three parts of the documentary use the same documentary technique. The church has prolifically broadcast online and released videos, and parts of the church's own broadcasts are used, alternated with former disciples of TB Joshua describing what happened. The contrast between the propaganda (let's not beat about the bush) materials and the accounts of those who have managed to survive, is absolutely devastating.
It's also effective, because you can see why desperate or hopeful people would get drawn in to the church. We see extensive footage of people turning up with apparently advanced diseases supposedly completely cured in short order and some of the more ecstatic parts of the worship at the compound. In fact it's some of the most uncomfortable viewing you could ever see because you want to scream 'Run away' at the screen.
This documentary is also one of the few cult documentaries which adequately explains why people stay in cults, why they do the bizarre things their leaders tell them and why they don't/can't leave, because it takes us on the journey in and then describes the life inside. For example you may think that it's ridiculous to think that one man could cure HIV but this describes the vulnerabilities of those who enter and how cults keep on making greater demands after gaining people's commitment. I think this is one of the more useful things that people could be taught in schools, but hey, who am I.
As a description of indoctrination, cult brain washing and mind control, I literally can't think of a better one. This is an absolutely expert depiction of the subject, which I honestly think is unrivalled and I can't lavish enough praise on the BBC's Africa Eye team for doing this. This is a bittersweet comment because the BBC has lost its reputation for objective reporting in the UK and we have to look to Al Jazeera!
It's also very clear that TB Joshua operated the church as a scam (he's died, but the church goes on and denies that any accusations have been proved). It is a horrifying experience to see his former assistants describe how he actually clearly described it as a scam to them. How he used it for sex, power and money, and they all knew, but still did it because they couldn't get out. There are descriptions of some very twisted and kinky things in this show.
The documentary doesn't deal with the question of what should be done about the vulnerable who are taken in by scams, although the question is written all over the three hours. It's easy to feel, separated from the charismatic power of the group, to see that what was going on was clearly a scam. However what about the credulous, who would see these videos of apparent mass healings and get on the next plane to Lagos? I'm old enough to remember when it was assumed that more information or education would be the help for these people, but I think in the internet age it's apparent that more information will not stop humans being taken in. This huge question is outside the scope of the documentary, however is the enduring issue it's raised in my mind.
Another interesting issue it raises is how you would feel watching it if you are a Christian (I'm not any more). The documentary cleverly connects Joshua's presentation of his church in a direct line with other charismatic Christian churches so that it would look like it was in that current, at least until you got inside and were calling him daddy. Of course the internet is replete with Christians calling other Christians heretics, but it feels like a Christian watching this should be particularly embarrassed by it and keen to distance themselves from the Synagogue Church of All Nations as not being the real thing. I also wonder whether this documentary could be uncomfortable viewing for other people with the realisation that there is no more evidence for miracles, signs or wonders in any other church than in the Synagogue Church of All Nations. I have no idea, and I'm wondering this because normally if you search for a dodgy Christian ministry the first thing you find is lots of social media videos calling attention to its errors and dangers, but I haven't spotted many for this church. It's strange, but then the documentary describes the active violence directed at those who left and one of the women interviewed describes having to wear a hijab so as not to be killed by them. Gulp.
I think another discomfort for religious people watching this is that it's uncomfortable watching other people being taken in by a scam. However every religion is based around the existence of some sort of being who can't be seen or proved, and this show necessarily raises the question of how even less controlling religions require the customer to 'buy' something they can't see. Hands up if you're itching to comment, 'But faith...'.
I don't have a criticism. However the final part feels like it's at a different pace from the others, which have been dealing with weird cult stuff, because it's partly about the more mundane matters of covering up a building collapse. I have found myself wondering whether this part would have been better in the middle or the beginning but I can see there are disadvantages wherever you put it. As I say I can't fault the way the documentary is structured to hit you like a sledgehammer.
In summary this documentary is very difficult viewing of the way into a high control/abusive religious group and the things that people find themselves doing once they are in there. Perhaps one of the things which makes it most uncomfortable is that the things TB Joshua are things which have all happened in 'mainstream' churches as well; for example it is now very clear that one of the ways sexual abusers seek respectability as a cover is in religion and in grooming people so that they won't believe accusations. This is also not about some strange fringe group years ago, but is about a church which is currrently still operating internationally, which adds to this discomfort. There is a further level of discomfort in watching this documentary because it necessarily makes us wonder how we would have behaved in the situation of the interviewees: if we wouldn't have been taken in the smugness is uncomfortable, and the thought of being taken in is horrifying. Watching this documentary is almost like having survivor guilt without even being there.
An excellent and masterly documentary by the BBC.
Image credit: Getty Images/Pius Ekomi.
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