Maddock & abhosts,what i realy meant is that people are abusing the priviledge by turning themselves to COPERATE BEGGERS, all in the name of soliciting for air time assistance from the public,this makes the muslim to make jest of us. If any pastor dont have money to go on air,why not start a door to door evangelism. For the contributor that talked on sms and phone calls. Do you demand of money from whomever you call or send text to?

If all the money that went to churches went to sincere charity organizations, or some sort of direct positive investment into communities we might just have a slightly better country/world. Instead we have people pretty much paying for some warped interpretation of salvation, and pastors offering every fantasy they can come up with.

The word of God is sacred. It should never, in my opinion, be used to deceive and enslave people. What a lot of pastors are doing today is making a killing off people's sincere thirst for God. Instead of seeking better understanding of what Jesus teaches, we have people claiming to possess the truth and wielding it over their congregation like its the answer to all their problems.

MrCrackles:
Personally, if anyone from any religious denomination come knocking on my door to preach, i will spit or force out hot phlegm on the person's face!

Maybe in lawless Nigeria, however, in the US, UK, Canada, etc., that will be considered assault and if the victim presses charges, you will see yourself in court answering questions.

But in my country Nigeria, where lawlessness is embraced, you can do whatever you want to anybody without any consequences whatsoever!

Most of this pastors are using this avenue to milk innocent people seeking for salvation.

eghosaobas:

Maddock & abhosts,what i realy meant is that people are abusing the priviledge by turning themselves to COPERATE BEGGERS, all in the name of soliciting for air time assistance from the public,this makes the muslim to make jest of us. If any pastor dont have money to go on air,why not start a door to door evangelism. For the contributor that talked on sms and phone calls. Do you demand of money from whomever you call or send text to?

Soliciting for contributions to keep a religious programme on air is not begging. That is the way it works even in the united states. Every single programme you see on television has sponsors. Even Circular programmes are kept on air by corporate bodies that advertise their goods and services during it's time slot.

Advertising is different from begging people to pay 1000 naira monthly to keep the program on.

RichyBlacK:

Maybe in lawless Nigeria, however, in the US, UK, Canada, etc., that will be considered assault and if the victim presses charges, you will see yourself in court answering questions.

But in my country Nigeria, where lawlessness is embraced, you can do whatever you want to anybody without any consequences whatsoever!

word, mrcrackles don't become someone's bitch in jail

It is called ministration.
@abhosts, There is a main difference between religious practices and commercial: NO TAXES!!!
People shouldn't rely on the loop holes in the Nigerian system to make their millions. C'mon.!!!!!!!

WITH ALL SAID AND DONE; I BELIEVE INDIVIDUAL LIVES SHOULD BE THE DOOR TO DOOR EVANGELISM AT THIS CRUCIAL MOMENT IN LIFE; IF YOU CAN LIVE THE LIFE WHY GO DOOR TO DOOR TALKLESS OF HAVING A CONGREGATION BECAUSE YOU WERE PRIVILEGED TO ATTEND BIBLE SCHOOL! THE MAIN THING CHRIST HAMMERED WAS "LET YOUR LIFE SO SHINE BEFORE MEN, THAT THEY MIGHT SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS AND THEREBY GLORIFY MY FATHER IN HEAVEN", GONE ARE THE DAYS WHEN YOU GET EMPLOYED BECAUSE YOU'RE A XTAIN; IF YOU TRY TO DO THAT NOW, YOU'RE GONE, FOREVER, AND EVER!

I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS IN HIGHER INSTITUTION, A GUY CAME TO A PLACE ITH 'TRACTS' TO PREACH TO FELLOW STUDENTS; HE EVENTUALLY HANDED DROPPED THOSE TRACTS ON THE FLOOR FOR THOSE GIRLS BECAUSE THEY WERE PUTTING ON JEANS PANTS WHICH IS AGAINST HIS CHURCH'S BELIEF, I WAS SO ANNOYED EVEN THOUGH I WAS BROUGHT UP IN CHURCH, BECAUSE IT'S THE HEIGHT OF HYPOCRISY THAT I COULD EVER IMAGINE, FULL OF DECEIT, and so many worst more I grew up witnessing, WE'RE BUNCH OF HYPOCRITES IN NIGERIA FROM THE TOP TO THE LEAST, just few are left out,

EVERYTHING YOU NEED IN THIS WORLD
IS WRAPPED UP IN THE WORD
SO GO FOR THE WORD
YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS
WHEN YOU GET A HOLD OF IT
KEEP SAYING IT DONT STOP TALKING IT
THE BIBLE SAYS IN THE CITY OF EPHESUS
SO MIGHTILY GREW THE WORD OF GOD
AND PREVAIL

@maddock
man GOd will bless 4 this. the word will surely grow and prevail. Let them smack thier mouths like a hungry Crocodile. NONSENSE,

My question is: WHAT IS THE WORD? WRITTEN BY MAN? I BELIEVE IN A SUPREME BEING.

so you don't beleive in God?
the Word here is God himself. JOHn 1:1-16, will tell you better.
the word is filled with the spirit. it is not written by man"s knowledge by the inspiration of the spirit.
Brother i will advice you to study the word because it contains all that was created on this earth and the universe.

I am a Christian but the "Word you talk about was written by humans.

sojioguns:

I am a Christian but the "Word you talk about was written by humans.

It was written by men that were inspired of God and in some cases, real eyewitnesses to God's awesome deeds. Just like when you pick up a newspaper to read; the journalist is giving you an account of a true event that occurred. Look at the bible in a similar vein.


That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 1 John 1:1

@sojiogun.
man, God can't do anything on earth without humans.
these Humans u r talking about where inspired by the holy spirirt to put the content of the WORD,
so understand this.

You ve not offended anybody,at least you ve voice out your mind.

Alot of these so called pastors have turned this to a money making scheme. You dont get good programs on television on sundays,from 7am-10pm they will occupy it. But i am not saying its wrong but their ways. Why cant they come together than every one of them wants to be boss of themselves.

@Krayola,
Fantastic piece. I really didn't want to get into this discussion but you have said it all. The Word, which we all have grown up to believe in is actually a lot of history that is contaminated by MAN. That's why a lot of pastors are capitalising on that fact and tell people what they want to hear.
This is not a forum to debate on whether God exists or not. From my personal view, I believe there is a Supreme being that created the heavens and the earth, including the planets. The Supreme being could be the Big Bang to the Astrologers or some Idol to the traditional Sango worshippers. I just know there is a Supreme Being that created me and I love so much.
I don't need any pastor to tell me that I escaped death twice last year because God loves me. There are other people I know that are more "holy" than me and still have died in minor occurrences. The Supreme Being I believe in has let me know that I do things on this earth not because of the fear of hell or the desire to go to heaven, but just to make the world a better place.
Now if we go back to the time of Noah, as the Bible says, God was not happy with the world. Why would God want to wipe out the bad eggs if He didn't believe in the earth. God wants the earth to be a better place. So instead of debating whether TV evangelism is a scam or whether this pastor or that pastor is performing fake miracles, LET US ALL LOVE ONE ANOTHER AND MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE, DAMMIT!

My brother these pastor have played on our intelligent for a long time now. Why do we have churches at every 100 meters?why cant they come together to worship in one church. Pentecostals have their churches facing themselves and side by side, catholics dont do this,mind you i am not a catholic. So lets the so called church leaders set example by coming together as one.

hummm
i'm learning here fam

@Krayola/sojioguns
Brilliant submission, i am really glad christians are coming to know the truth about the true gospel of Jesus christ which is a gospel based purely on love for God and Others targetted at making the world a better place for all. Churches have really distorted this truth for selfish gain. it is my prayer that Christ would reveal himself to us all so that we can genuinely understand his message.

KunleOshob:

@Krayola/sojioguns
Brilliant submission, i am really glad christians are coming to know the truth about the true gospel of Jesus christ which is a gospel based purely on love for God and Others targetted at making the world a better place for all. Churches have really distorted this truth for selfish gain. it is my prayer that Christ would reveal himself to us all so that we can genuinely understand his message.

it loooks like chris took your family land somewhere.

Pls we are talking serious here,not chris,we all cannot be fooled all the time.

i am not here to judge anyone - being catholic myself i am conservative in my religion - howeve I have met evangelists too that have touched me and make me reach deep into my pocket in my broke months - and others that just make me think OLE!!!

my advise to u ppl is  BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS - esp all these PROMISCUOUS CHURCH-HOPPERS that do nnotknow how to be loyal to one church. Have faith in God and find a church you are 100% comfortable in to worship and stick to it - if a deacon break from that church and opens his own after graduating from partor school, then stay loyal to your original pastor

in a way i like Catholics sense of authorityand hierarchy - though many people diss it - u will not find a ppriestopening up his own church of his own authority- just like that!!

Can someone please tell me how to quote someone's post? Thank you

I believe in a supreme "being". I also believe/know that humans, before science, devised their own ways to understand the world and their relationship to it. When u study all religions of the world you start to discover that they all have so much in common when it comes to the core moral principles they seek to promote. It is when they intersect with politics (Back in those days religion and state were one and the same thing) that you start to see distortions. Rules are added to fit in with the political agenda of the rulers (for example all our Christian holidays are really pagan holy days. Emperor constantine had to keep things that were already familiar to the population to make the transition to christianity less problematic. The way the Catholic Mass is set up and all the elaborate costumes that the priests wear are just to create a similarity with old Pagan rituals. In the East, the Chinese Emperors manipulated Confucian values of submission and loyalty to the state to oppress people they knew will never rebel because it was against their faith).

These empires used their claim to hold the "one divine truth" to rally up support for their political and military endeavors. The "noble" cause of spreading Christianity to all the world was really an excuse to expand their empire. What better way to do that than to say "God sent us, and we have to prepare the way for Christ to come back". This is not exclusive to Christianity and is also part of Islam. Everything that was not in agreement with their agenda was called evil, when in reality they were anything but. Back then the prevalent religion in Europe was a form of nature worship, where people worshiped nature, believed in the divine presence in all reality, and promoted the same moral principles that have existed ever since. People like these were termed heretics, witches, and other bad things, and this types of sentiments are still rampant in Africa. They were not bad people and did not worship the devil, they were just in the way of the Roman/Church's agenda.

Our African traditional religions are not evil, it is just our own understanding of the universe and our relation ship to the ultimate reality, Just as the Jews have their own. The only difference is that the Jewish faith was adopted by the most powerful empire in world, which had unity problems because so many different gods were being worshiped by different people, that the emperor decided it was better for him if they all just worshiped one God. Also, I think it is important to note that Emperor Constantine, the man responsible for making Christianity the official religion of the empire, was never a christian and did not get baptized till he was on his death bed. You decide for yourself, but I think his motives were purely political.

I encourage you to not take my word for it and do your own research, you can google any of these things and i'm sure you will find lots of material. I have a lot of books on these issues i can recommend if anyone is interested. My bigger point though is that no pastor holds the truth, no one really knows what is out there and anyone that claims to is LYING. God is in you, use your mind, you brain is given to you by God, don't let anyone scare you into believing that it is blasphemous to doubt something that does not make sense to you.

I think i made some point out from your post.

LORD HAVE MERCY, MOST OF THE PASTORS NOW ARE MAKING MONEY IN THE NAME OF GOD,
THEIR GOD IS GOD OF PROSPERITY,

The so called pastors are busy brain washing and milky money out of people. About them coming on air to preach is an apology cos most of them do this so as to get money from people.

My broda na sooo

@poster

Door to door evangelism is still going on steadily but only done by Jehovah's Witnesses.

Check www.watchtower.org for more details.

Krayola:

Can someone please tell me how to quote someone's post? Thank you

After you click onthe reply button and the reply page comes up, scroll down and you would see the previous posts of others when you see the particular post you want to quote click on the "insert quote" icon and the post would be automatically inserted in your reply page. Then you can type in your response.  

@Krayola
I really admire your understanding of the scripture:  John 8:32:
32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

You are blessed and free.