Man of God who was one of the fiercest critics of former President John Dramani Mahama, Very Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey, former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana has urged all Pastors and Christians to stay away from politics.

Prof. Martey, who has gone totally silent since his retirement which coincided with the coming to power of the Akufo-Addo government made this statement at the annual public lecture of the Bible Society of Ghana in Accra monitored by MyNewsGh.com.

The theme of the lecture was, “The Bible and Politics”.

According to him, “Christian organisations and churches must use the Bible as a tool for the moral conscience of the government and political leaders, but not to use it to engage in partisan politics”, urging Christian organisations and churches to stay away from partisan politics, “but rather educate the public on political issues and matters of national interest”.

“Although there are instances of politics in the Bible, Jesus refused to partake in it by refusing to be crowned a king, and by refusing to enter into confrontations with the Jewish leaders, so should all Christian organisations also desist from entering into politics,” Prof. Martey said.

He bemoaned the cases where political personalities in Ghana abuse the Bible as a basis to draw in voters and followers to their party, a jab which is clearly targeted at Osofo Kyiri Abosom of GUM.

“The churches’ role in politics is to ensure that citizens in their communities engaged in peaceful, fair, transparent and accurate elections, and to ensure that citizens have all the information needed to make the right choice,” Prof. Martey explained.

Right Reverend Samuel Kofi Osabutey, Bishop of the Accra Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana was chairman for the occasion.

Very Rev. Prof. Martey’s comment comes after the Catholic Bishops Conference of Ghana said they don’t openly criticize the Akufo-Addo government because they engage with the government at several levels.