Pastor Abel Damina, founder of Abel Damina Ministries and Power City International, has stirred controversy with his statement that smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol are not sinful acts.
During his New Year’s Eve sermon on Tuesday, Pastor Damina argued that these behaviors are often misrepresented as sins, emphasizing that they are not inherently wrong.
“I’ve told you alcohol is not a sin. I’ve told you cigar is not a sin. If you like, put it on a newspaper headline, I said it,” he declared.
However, the pastor clarified that his position was not an endorsement of such behaviors. He advised his audience to exercise discretion and wisdom.
“Am I saying you should smoke? You should have sense from your father’s house to know that cigar will cut short your life. Am I saying you should drink alcohol? You should know that if you drink alcohol, you will lie down inside a gutter. Your shirt and trousers will disappear. You should have the sense to know that,” he said.
Pastor Damina also challenged conventional theological interpretations of sin, using the story of Adam and Eve as an example. He questioned the long-held belief that their sin was caused by eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
“Adam and Eve ate nothing,” he said. “Were you there? You were not there. So how do we know whether they ate something or not? Jesus was there. Was Jesus there in the Garden of Eden? Yes. Can Jesus explain to us what happened? Yes.”
Citing Mark 7:18-21, Pastor Damina argued that sin is not determined by what a person consumes but by the state of their heart. He stated, “If they (Adam and Eve) ate, it’ll go to their stomach. It’ll digest and go to the toilet. They’ll be free. There’s nothing a man eats that enters his heart. It’ll go to the digestive system, and it’ll go out somehow. It is what comes out of a man that defiles a man, not what goes in. What makes you a sinner is what you’re thinking, not what you’re eating.”
The sermon has sparked widespread debate among Christians and theologians, with many questioning traditional teachings on sin and morality.
