Pastor eaten alive by crocodiles while trying to walk on water

In yet another instance of the headline being so good you almost don’t need the story itself, a pastor eaten alive by crocodiles appears to have met his demise while trying to duplicate the power of Christ by walking on water for his parishoners.

The story–brought to our attention by The Blemish–goes like this. Jonathan Mthethwa, of the Saint of the Last Days Church in Nigeria, died from injuries sustained while attempting the feat this past Saturday morning. Mthethwa had “taught [his church] about faith on Sunday last week,” Deacon Nkosi, a follower of the church, told the Nigeria Daily Post.

And so, during the ensuing week, Mthethwa decided that he would demonstate his own faith by trying to match Jesus Christ Himself–and by making the attempt over a body of water called Crocodile River.

Nkosi described the scene thusly. “He promised he would demonstrate his faith to us today, but he unfortunately ended up drowning and getting eaten by 3 large crocodiles in front of us….They finished him in a couple of minutes. All that was left of him when they finished eating him is a pair of sandals and his underwear floating above the water.”

The Daily Post reported that paramedics did arrive at the scene about 30 minutes later, but “there was not much they could do” since Mthethwa was long dead.

Deacon Nkosi summed things up nicely: “We still don’t understand how this happened because he fasted and prayed the whole week.”

This story should maybe be taken with a grain (or block) or salt, much like the news of the porn star shark attack that got everyone riled up last week until it turned out to be a hoax. The Daily Post article cites–without linking to it–original reporting by The Herald Zimbabwe, but a search for the word “Mthethwa” on that paper’s page reveals nary a croc. And Nkosi’s quotes are so on-the-nose that they’re either dripping with sarcasm or are cloaked in purity of the devout.

Still, an amazing headline is an amazing headline. Happy Monday!

(Photo credits: Pastor eaten alive by crocodiles via Radek Vitoul, Spiterman on Flickr)