asalimpo: Whether man believes in A divine being or not.
Man cannot not live without religion. Just like no organization can operate without a budget- even if they choose to implement an ad hoc/unplanned one. That is still a budget.

Any system prescribing how man should relate with his fellow man,
his relationship and responsibility to his leaders ,community and government,
his work ethics,
Adresses the issue of life(how it began), why we are here, where we go at death,
marraige relationships,
- responsibility of spouses
- work ethics
- money issues
- employee/employer issues
what to do when worried, offended, provoked
, when you lose a loved one and are grieving,
- what to do when sick
etc and many more.

Any system that prescribes guidelines/dictates rules for handling any of the above issues is a religion.
So a religion is a guiding body of rules on pertinent matters (listed above).
Everybody has religion.
Everybody worships a god.
No religion no life.

that's what you were made to believe

logicboy01:


FALSE

TRUE

Peterken05: that's what you were made to believe

that's what it is.

asalimpo::
Whether man believes in A divine being or not.
Man cannot not live without religion.

If you tinker with the definition of religion, then you are right.

Just like no organization can operate without a budget- even if they choose to implement an ad hoc/unplanned one. That is still a budget.

Where did you find this analogy?

Any system prescribing how man should relate with his fellow man,

The Nigerian legal system is a religion.

his relationship and responsibility to his leaders,
community and government,

The social contract is a religion. Democracy is a religion. Autocracy is a religion. Monarchy is a religion.

his work ethics,

The code of conduct for public officers is a religious book. Employer/employee contracts are religious scripts.

Adresses the issue of life(how it began),

Science is a religion.

why we are here, where we go at death,

Philosophy is a religion.

marraige relationships,
- responsibility of spouses

Culture is a religion

- work ethics
- money issues

Financial planning is a religious doctrine.

- employee/employer issues
what to do when worried, offended, provoked
, when you lose a loved one and are grieving,

Dear Agony Aunt Rebecca is a religious leader. Law enforcement are principalities and powers

- what to do when sick
etc and many more.

Medicine and healthcare are religion

Any system that prescribes guidelines/dictates rules for handling any of the above issues is a religion.
So a religion is a guiding body of rules on pertinent matters (listed above).
Everybody has religion.
Everybody worships a god.
No religion no life.

Excellent. You have said it all.

oluwabambam: I was just reading a post on Nairaland some minutes ago where the topic was on what constitutes a God-fearing individual. Someone commented adding that he/she is an atheist and that got me wondering. I have been seeing so many atheists on social media in Nigeria and it bothers me why there are so many of them nowadays. Are people now saying that there is no God? Do people mean that they don't believe in the creator of the universe? How did they come into existence if they don't believe in God. God created us all and this is what the Bible says. What is it with all these atheists? I want to understand why anyone would come to the conclusion that there is no God. It baffles me seriously. I need answers.

For some reasons the OP is waking up from his delusive dreams. Why do you find it strange to see many people doubt the existence of your god? You are like a mad man who suddenly realised he's been running around the street naked for 20 years.

lastmessenger: I don't have a problem with many people becoming athiest.
Anything one choose to believe or accept is all about the mindset.
According to Guatama Budha-Mind is everything you become what you think.
I think Christ and that's why am a christain.

Yes you are what you think. You are one of the millions of guilibles souls who have given so much to the rich pastors.

People like you make me want to do business with christians. All i need is hold a bible and your brain is already dead.

Willing to bash peoples brains in and kill babies for "god"... your fabled idols in the bible did,would you?

But seriously, @OP, you shouldn't be surprised. Please study your bible and get more understanding on the happenings...

Specifically, I recommend Matthew 5:31, 19:7 and Mark 10:4.

In those passages, Paul is saying that before Jesus returns, within the church there will be a changing of loyalty among believers towards God. They will figuratively “file for divorce,” in other words, unbelief will run rampant, thereby setting the stage for “the man of lawlessness” to be revealed.

Please study your Bible. Personally, I'm not surprised

Well, I am agnostic so I don't know if I am qualified to answer...
Truth be told, as an "unbeliever", I was (pleasantly) surprised to see that quite a few Nairalanders do not associate with religion.
In my family, I am the only one who outright and publicly has admitted to not being religious. The thing is, being the first born of the fam, I don't want to influence the spiritual/moral inclinations of my younger siblings. So I try not to dwell too much on my distaste of religion.

That said, I have met Christians here that are open-minded enough to listen to my differences and not judge me (excessively).

Iyineda: Well, I am agnostic so I don't know if I am qualified to answer...
Truth be told, as an "unbeliever", I was (pleasantly) surprised to see that quite a few Nairalanders do not associate with religion.
In my family, I am the only one who outright and publicly has admitted to not being religious. The thing is, being the first born of the fam, I don't want to influence the spiritual/moral inclinations of my younger siblings. So I try not to dwell too much on my distaste of religion.

That said, I have met Christians here that are open-minded enough to listen to my differences and not judge me (excessively).

and so it starts.. the journey can be a struggle but in the end.. they will see reason over blind faith

Acidosis: But seriously, @OP, you shouldn't be surprised. Please study your bible and get more understanding on the happenings...

Specifically, I recommend Matthew 5:31, 19:7 and Mark 10:4.

In those passages, Paul is saying that before Jesus returns, within the church there will be a changing of loyalty among believers towards God. They will figuratively “file for divorce,” in other words, unbelief will run rampant, thereby setting the stage for “the man of lawlessness” to be revealed.

Please study your Bible. Personally, I'm not surprised

So disloyalty, lawlessness and divorce are the reasons for atheism?


Why not join boko haram and max up your bigotry?

logicboy01:


So disloyalty, lawlessness and divorce are the reasons for atheism?


Why not join boko haram and max up your bigotry?

divorce in the context of God - man relationship, not man - woman..

oluwabambam: I was just reading a post on Nairaland some minutes ago where the topic was on what constitutes a God-fearing individual. Someone commented adding that he/she is an atheist and that got me wondering. I have been seeing so many atheists on social media in Nigeria and it bothers me why there are so many of them nowadays .

Are people now saying that there is no God? Do people mean that they don't believe in the creator of the universe? How did they come into existence if they don't believe in God. God created us all and this is what the Bible says. What is it with all these atheists? I want to understand why anyone would come to the conclusion that there is no God. It baffles me seriously. I need answers.

If you are referring to social media like Nairaland, I don't think a good number of the atheist are really Nigerians (full Nigerians with no dual nationality,or has never left the country). Some atheist in Nairaland are not nigerians or are but do not reside here, so their views have been influence by their locality.

The rest are people who believe only science has the answers, rejected false religion and embrace atheism, become discouraged when they see the suffering in the world. Some just like to follow others (western world/scientist) because it makes them seem cool/enlightened.

Many Nigerians still fear/believe in the supernatural irrespective of what they claim to believe. It is part of their way of life now e.g How often do they visit their hometown I wonder.

Whether we like it all not: our life is affected by;
The kind of TRAINING we receive, the environmental EXPOSURE and our REASONING ability. These three things influence our beliefs

RikoduoSennin:

If you are referring to social media like Nairaland, I don't think a good number of the atheist are really Nigerians (full Nigerians with no dual nationality,or has never left the country). Some atheist in Nairaland are not nigerians or are but do not reside here, so their views have been influence by their locality.

The rest are people who believe only science has the answers, rejected false religion and embrace atheism, become discouraged when they see the suffering in the world. Some just like to follow others (western world/scientist) because it makes them seem cool/enlightened.

Many Nigerians still fear/believe in the supernatural irrespective of what they claim to believe. It is part of their way of life now e.g How often do they visit their hometown I wonder.

Whether we like it all not: our life is affected by;
The kind of TRAINING we receive, the environmental EXPOSURE and our REASONING ability. These three things influence our beliefs

Yet another christian/theist that believes that atheism is a foreign/white thing.

"A true Nigerian cant be an atheist"

No true scotsman fallacy

=================
Chinua Achebe was already a non-christian and a skeptic before leaving the shores of Nigeria. He wasnt a christian and neither did he have access to the internet

oluwabambam: I was just reading a post on Nairaland some minutes ago where the topic was on what constitutes a God-fearing individual. Someone commented adding that he/she is an atheist and that got me wondering. I have been seeing so many atheists on social media in Nigeria and it bothers me why there are so many of them nowadays. Are people now saying that there is no God? Do people mean that they don't believe in the creator of the universe? How did they come into existence if they don't believe in God. God created us all and this is what the Bible says. What is it with all these atheists? I want to understand why anyone would come to the conclusion that there is no God. It baffles me seriously. I need answers.

There are answers to your questions. Many people nowadays are educated and dare ask critical questions. Even about religion. While doing so they discover that the religions as they are don't make sense to them and that they are rather institutions that were set up in order to brainwash and control people (and extort money of course) ever since 5000 BC. Some will not reject religion completely, but they will at least be more critical about it and won't accept everything they are fed. They might start to see certain parts of the bible as metaphorical rather than taking them literally (which is a good thing I believe. Else you'd be stoning people to death for the most insane reasons). Others will become agnostics or atheists. Agnostics don't exclude the possibility hat there could be a god. But they don't believe it's necessary or makes sense to get involved in any worshipping cult. They accept the fact that they don't KNOW whether or not there is a god. Others will become atheists. Those don't believe there is a god as depicted in any of the religions man has invented.

I think most atheists and agnostics are generally less concerned about god than they are about religion. They are disgusted by the madness, fanaticism, backwardness, intolerance and hypocrasy of religions today, especially when they are of the fundamentalist variety as in Nigeria. They believe in free thinking. They believe in tolerance and freedom. They believe in education and common sense. They believe in doing good themselves rather than praying for god to do good (which never seems to happen). They believe in accepting their own responsibility rather than praying for miracles (which never seem to happen). They are disgusted by things like the redemption camp that cost billions, while none of the "good Christians" involved in it would ever go see and help the people living under the bridges next to it. Why was all that money not spent to actually help people in the first place? They are disgusted by the way all the "good Christians" are obsessed with sin. But only sexual "sin" of course, and only sexual sin that doesn't concern them. 419 and all that is interestingly never considered to be a sin even though the bible says you shall not steal, right? Lying and cheating is also not considered a sin in spite of what the bible says. Yet it never seems to occur to these "good christians" that they are not doing any good in their lives. No, instead they worship money and materialism. For example all our "good Christian" girls who sell their bodies for money to their sugar daddies (it's known as prostitution in the rest of the world). Atheists are also disgusted about pastors who collect from gullible (and mostly poor) people and buy private jets rather than doing good. They are disgusted by yahoo boys stealing in the name of God. But all these hypocrites assemble in church every sunday or more and express their "fervent" religious madness. And so on, and so on..... These are all reasons why people turn their backs on religion.

finofaya:

If you tinker with the definition of religion, then you are right.



Where did you find this analogy?



The Nigerian legal system is a religion.



The social contract is a religion. Democracy is a religion. Autocracy is a religion. Monarchy is a religion.



The code of conduct for public officers is a religious book. Employer/employee contracts are religious scripts.



Science is a religion.



Philosophy is a religion.



Culture is a religion



Financial planning is a religious doctrine.



Dear Agony Aunt Rebecca is a religious leader. Law enforcement are principalities and powers



Medicine and healthcare are religion



Excellent. You have said it all.

summon all your brain cells together to critique a post. I listed what the basic features of a religious system are. You isolated each feature to make ur shabby point- how smart of you.
Now go back and analyse or critique in context or reserve your comment.

A system is made of sun components non of which stands alone as an equal to the system.


Just do som thnkg bf u reply,ok?

Nature is only taking its course. If you're a thinker, it's only a matter of time before you find yourself in reset mode. In my case, I'm a Humanist. I find myself in church only when I visit my siblings, to avoid their face frowning and all, should I refuse to go. I just discovered my true self, still thinking on how to burst the bubble to them.

Okies.

Here's what you said:

asalimpo: Any system that prescribes guidelines/dictates rules for handling any of the above issues is a religion.

What that means is that a system that addresses, for example, work ethics alone is a religion. You said it bro, not me. So once again, the code of conduct for public officers is a religious text according to your well thought out definition.

Let's assume you meant to say:

"Any system that prescribes guidelines/dictates rules for handling all of the above issues is a religion."

Given this definition, and assuming that it is correct, I would like to know which religion is responsible for the CoC for public officers. The CoC clearly addresses work ethics, and you say work ethics is one of the areas that religion superintends. Unless it is possible for a 'system' to provide for work ethics without being part of a larger 'system' which you have chosen to call religion, the CoC must be a part of some religion. Which is it?

logicboy01:


Yet another christian/theist that believes that atheism is a foreign/white thing.

"A true Nigerian cant be an atheist"

No true scotsman fallacy

=================
Chinua Achebe was already a non-christian and a skeptic before leaving the shores of Nigeria. He wasnt a christian and neither did he have access to the internet

seconded, i've been an agnostic even before knowing the word atheist or agnostic, the idea of god punishing people 'cause of apple isnt only absurd but also funny, i find it very hard to belief in witches and crap like that, yet i live in the remote part of abeokuta with no library or books on logic or reason to read, now that i have my laptop, phones i can now understand it fully

Peterken05: seconded, i've been an agnostic even before knowing the word atheist or agnostic, the idea of god punishing people 'cause of apple isnt only absurd but also funny, i find it very hard to belief in witches and crap like that, yet i live in the remote part of abeokuta with no library or books on logic or reason to read, now that i have my laptop, phones i can now understand it fully

You must be a genius.


I had to actually be shocked out of my delusions. Someone called me a black slave in UK for being a christian....then I went to read about religion and slavery.......that was the beginning

Acidosis: But seriously, @OP, you shouldn't be surprised. Please study your bible and get more understanding on the happenings...

Specifically, I recommend Matthew 5:31, 19:7 and Mark 10:4.

In those passages, Paul is saying that before Jesus returns, within the church there will be a changing of loyalty among believers towards God. They will figuratively “file for divorce,” in other words, unbelief will run rampant, thereby setting the stage for “the man of lawlessness” to be revealed.

Please study your Bible. Personally, I'm not surprised

Many people thought the world would end around 1914, then 1945 , then many times in the 21st century and it goes on and on...the gullible will keep waiting from generation to generation.

there is athiesm. agnostic peeps and free thinkers. all i know d world was created by sumtin or sum1. but religion is a big scam

panachuku: there is athiesm. agnostic peeps and free thinkers. all i know d world was created by sumtin or sum1. but religion is a big scam

yes...the excretion disk of the sun....like all planets...

panachuku: all i know d world was created by sumtin or sum1.

You don't know this. You just believe it.

logicboy01:

You must be a genius.


I had to actually be shocked out of my delusions. Someone called me a black slave in UK for being a christian....then I went to read about religion and slavery.......that was the beginning

yh, kindof.
Lool, paradox

logicboy01:


Yet another christian/theist that believes that atheism is a foreign/white thing.

"A true Nigerian cant be an atheist"

No true scotsman fallacy

The bolded is just plain wrong, I never said anything like that nor suggest such a thing. I merely state my observation of Nairaland atheist community. I did not imply "all", I said "some".

Who said atheist is a foreign/white thing? I never did. Training, Exposure and reasoning plays a great deal in being an atheist.

logicboy01:
=================
Chinua Achebe was already a non-christian and a skeptic before leaving the shores of Nigeria. He wasnt a christian and neither did he have access to the internet

Skeptic maybe, but do you have a one on one relationship with him? Because, he just may harbour some traditional beliefs. Nevertheless, his Training, Exposure and Reasoning made him the Man he was.

RikoduoSennin:

The bolded is just plain wrong, I never said anything like that nor suggest such a thing. I merely state my observation of Nairaland atheist community. I did not imply "all", I said "some".

Who said atheist is a foreign/white thing? I never did. Training, Exposure and reasoning plays a great deal in being an atheist.




Skeptic maybe, but do you have a one on one relationship with him? Because, he just may harbour some traditional beliefs. Nevertheless, his Training, Exposure and Reasoning made him the Man he was.

Good point....so are you still a christian

Oduduwaboy:
Many people thought the world would end around 1914, then 1945 , then many times in the 21st century and it goes on and on...the gullible will keep waiting from generation to generation.

It is better to serve Him and then find out its all false; than live a wayward life and then end in regrets.

I take risk alot; but not in heaven & hell matters.
How do people die? Why do people die? When they die, what follow? Where is the life? breath? soul? spirit? Where are the dead? How do dead people reveal things to the living? Why do demons speak? If you believe in small powers, magics, african jazz, voodoo, don't you know they're all manipulations/('counterfeiting') of a supreme power?

You don't believe in scriptures, but you'll easily believe in something called 7 books of Moses. Why do people manipulate the words of Moses? What do they do with these books? I've seen where a man ran m.ad after studying this book wrongly.


While I was much younger, I saw a giant angel in white garment talking to me. Where did he come from?

7-8 years back after my Jamb exams; I prayed and ask God to reveal my scores to me. That same night I saw my scores. How do you describe these events?

I have seen more than enough miracles to believe in the God I serve. I have seen live miracles, too many for me to type. I have seen where a blind man suffering from total blindness recovered after a short prayer to God. I have seen events too many to mention.

You don't have to believe my beliefs. I have my reasons for serving and trusting Him. I believe in visions, I believe in miracles, I believe in dreams and revelations, I'm terrestial on earth, in the same vein I believe in the Celestial in heaven - which is the home of the most High.

BodyKiss: Nature is only taking its course. If you're a thinker, it's only a matter of time before you find yourself in reset mode. In my case, I'm a Humanist. I find myself in church only when I visit my siblings to avoid their face frawning and all should I refuse to go. I just discovered my true self, still thinking on how to burst the bubble to them.

well u better do and free once and for all. o have done that to even my parents, they are surprised YES but they have come to accept me for what i am (i blackmailed them emotionally into thinking that whatever i am or i do is the will of God so they should let me be and pray for me if they think am wrong rather than fighting me cos its God that made me what i am that they will fighting). now am free at home and you should know i live in a very religious muslim state (ilorin to be precise)....

but then am not an Atheist, i considered myself an OBSERVER

ifeness:

For some reasons the OP is waking up from his delusive dreams. Why do you find it strange to see many people doubt the existence of your god? You are like a mad man who suddenly realised he's been running around the street naked for 20 years.

This is the best analysis so far.
Atheists are feared and despised because the expose the unclothedness of religious faith.

Reminds me of the story of the naked emperor who was waltzing around merrily in the town square with his invisible royal robe until a little innocent girl pointed out to him that he was naked.

logicboy01:


Good point....so are you still a christian

I really don't see how the question asked and my answer relate to the thread yet.

Most times i pity the religious....the veil of pride in their religions and "gods" do not allow them to question themselves and research on knowing if anything they believe is true or not.....
I also pity myself because of the mental capacity i would have achieved if i wasn't indoctrinated...
Heck i pity the whole human race for giving in to superstitions....if we never did...who knows?....i might have been on the moon now