CHRISTIANS AGE FASTER, 60YRS FINE TO HAVE KIDS, MARRY – TINYANGA

MBABANE – President of the Witchdoctors Association of Eswatini Makhanya Mankhanya says Christian men age faster, which is why they feel 60 years is too old to have children.

This was in response to an article published by this publication yesterday where Pastor Machuzu Gama stated that men who were above the age 60 years should not impregnate or marry. Gama said this during a visit by the Portfolio committee for the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in the House of Assembly, in an event held at Mcozini Primary School hall, Mkhiweni on Saturday. According to Makhanya, the narrative by the pastor would only apply to Christian men as they did not believe in consistently checking their health through consultation with traditional healers and cleansing through administering enema (kucatseka).

Demonic

“These people think checking one’s health through consultations with traditional healers is demonic, hence they view 60 years as being too old to start a family. It is funny though that the Bible then contradicts with the statement as Abraham was 100 years old when God blessed him with a child. “60 years is actually young, especially to the Swati men who take good care of themselves through the constant visitation to traditional healers and administering anema.At this age, people can still have the opportunity to get married and have children of their own, which would help in increasing the number of emaSwati in the world,” Makhanya said.

He mentioned that due to religious beliefs which the pastors had inherited from western cultures, they saw some of the practices which initially would be helpful to their well-being as a sin, which was why they then tend to look older than they actually were. “Some of the things seen as sin in the western culture, which they adopted, are ways emaSwati have been using for years to better their health and livelihood. It has worked for generations and has proven to be useful as our forefathers were able to not only live a bit longer than us but also live a healthier and more fulfilling life. That is why even at age 60 they still were able to get married and have children,” he said.

Right

Pastor Bakhe Dlamini stated that age in family creation did not matter but the physical and emotional strength of people determined their ability to do so. He said people had the right to live life as they felt was suitable for them. He mentioned that there were a number of people in the Bible who also had children after the age 60 which was proof that biblically, people were allowed to have children at any age as long as they were capable of doing so. “If you are at the age of 60 years and you still feel you can start a family or have children, it is within your right to do so. Biblically, people like Abraham were proof that age really did not matter as he got a child at 100 years. This shows that if one is still physically and emotionally capable of taking care of their family, they can start a family at any age,” he said.

A pastor who requested to remain anonymous also shared the same sentiments with Pastor Bakhe. He said he differed in option though with Makhanya as he did not think that Christian men aged a lot faster than traditional ones. He said this was because Christianity was a belief which meant that one could be Christian and also take good care of themselves.
“Such comments from the pastors have given this calling a bad reputation. This is because these pastors tend to make their opinions as though it is what the Bible says. This is just an opinion from a pastor who has not taken time to educate himself on such topics.

“Some of us got married after 60 years and do not have regrets as even our Bible permits it. Marriage is so much more than just sexual intercourse but companionship, which has no age limit. This is just a personal choice and people, including pastors, should learn to respect people’s choices and not use the Bible to drive their own opinions as it then implies that we as pastors all think as such,” he said.

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