My Thoughts And Questions About Religion - Religion (25) - Nairaland
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| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 5:47pm On Sep 10, 2015 |
[b]THE FOLLY OF FAITH I have discussed faith several times with several people of faith and I tell them that faith is WORTHLESS as a way to distinguish truth from untruth and it is DANGEROUS to base your life on faith. They believe faith is vital. That is our disagreement. What is faith? Faith is believing things without reasonable evidence. In many cases it is believing things with no evidence or, even, believing things when there is good evidence to show your beliefs cannot be true. Why do I say faith is worthless and dangerous? 1. Faith has no mechanism to help show which things are true and which are false. We know this is so because people believe contradictory things through faith. Compare Christianity and Hinduism. Both cannot be true because they make contradictory claims but both are believed through faith. So you can easily believe things that are not true if you rely on faith. 2. Faith places no limits on what people will believe. Once you accept things on faith you could believe donkeys can talk or a man could live in the belly of a whale or the sun could stand still in the sky or that Cain’s offspring were cursed by god and became black people. (People who use faith have no problem understanding that the faith claims made by other religions are absurd!) 3. Faith encourages certainty. We can rarely be certain about things even when there is abundant evidence but faith leads people to be CERTAIN about things for which there is no evidence. This can be dangerous. 4. If you are certain that god loves you and answers your prayers you may forgo medical help for your diabetic daughter and rely on prayer. This is how 11-year-old Madeline Neumann died in March 2008 in Weston Wisconsin. A shot of insulin would have saved her life, prayer allowed her to die from ketoacidosis. If you are certain that god wants you to wage a holy war on infidels, faith may convince you it is a good thing to fly a plane into a 110 story-building. These are not isolated stories—religions have been killing people for thousands of years. Faith places no limits on what people will believe and encourages certainty. This is a lethal combination. 5. Faith creates artificial barriers between people. Those who share a faith become an “in-crowd” and everyone else an “out-crowd”. Dialogue between faiths is difficult because there is no basis in reality for anyone’s beliefs. No side can point to evidence to show that one belief is more reasonable than another. It is hard to convince someone who is certain she is right for no rational reason. So periodically, conflicts erupt between religions and people die as a result of their superstitions. There are hundreds of examples of inter-faith conflict but the on-going killings between Christians and Muslims in Central Africa Republic are a recent example. That is why I say faith is worthless and dangerous. Religionists have no way of denying any of these criticisms of faith but they always seek to show that everyone use faith every day. For example, they say that when I accept medicine from a doctor, I accept the medicine on faith. But this response is wrong in logic AND it fails to recognise the difference between faith and risk assessment. I do not use faith but I do make risk assessments. The two are completely different. Let’s look at the logic of this objection. I use the name of an hypothetical Christian called Lawal. I summarise Lawal's logic as follows: 1. Faith is not a reliable way to determine truth. 2. Everyone, including Joseph1013, find out they have to use faith in everyday life. 3. Lawal uses faith to believe that his god exists. Lawal’s conclusion: Therefore, use of faith to believe in god is justified. Wrong conclusion. Even if I were to agree to Lawal's premises, which I do not, the only justified conclusion would be: Some of Joseph1013’s beliefs and my belief in god may be false because we both use an unreliable method to determine truth. However, I do not agree with premise (2). I do not use faith. When I have to make a decision and have imperfect information (which, I agree is quite often), I do a risk assessment. Let’s take the example of accepting medication from a doctor. I will find out what I can about the medication, its effectiveness and its side effects. I may do this by reading the datasheet, searching the Internet for reports about the drug or by asking the doctor. I will then weigh up the likely benefits and disadvantages of the drug and make a decision. At the end of this process, I will form a belief about the likely outcome of the treatment. That belief will never equate to certainty. It will be expressed in my mind as a probability and it will be based on whatever evidence I have been able to gather. The faith process is completely different. The evidence is not relevant to Lawal's belief and his belief will be at the level of certainty (assuming he have enough faith). This may be a positive belief that the drug will work or a negative belief that the drug will not work. As an example of this, I recall Muslims refusing on faith free vaccinations for Measles, Mumps and Rubella, Diptheria, Pertussis,Tetanus, and Polio. I recall this has happened in India and in several African countries, including Nigeria. A rational risk assessment would have led these people to accept the vaccinations but, irrational faith, led them to reject the treatment. As a consequence there were deaths, paralysis and other problems among the unvaccinated population. Faith is worthless and dangerous. I look forward to the day when we all reject faith as a way to determine truth; to a day when the word faith will be synonymous with the word stupidity.[/b] 2 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 12:12pm On Sep 12, 2015 |
THE PLACE OF ALLAH IN SAUDI TRAGEDY Yesterday, 107 people (& still counting) died at the Mecca mosque (the greatest holiest mosque or so in Islam) during an accident. What a tragedy! Concerning the tragedy, September 11, 2001: Muslims aided Allah to kill innocent people September 11, 2015: Allah helped himself to kill innocent Muslims. What is the place of Allah in the accident  1. He has power to prevent it but refused? 2. He doesn't know about it?? 3. He doesn't have power to prevent it even though he knew about it?? 4. He caused it himself?? If a miracle had happened inside that mosque, it would've been used as a means of preaching Islam to the whole world. Allah would've been mentioned side by side with the miracle. But now that it was a tragedy, folks shouldn't mention Allah side by side with the tragedy? I'm confused here. 10 Likes 5 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by vedaxcool(m): 2:56pm On Sep 13, 2015 |
^ 003:168 Khan : (They are) the ones who said about their killed brethren while they themselves sat (at home): "If only they had listened to us, they would not have been killed." Say: "Avert death from your ownselves, if you speak the truth." Make sure you avert death if you truly believe what you wrote. 1 Like |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 3:27pm On Sep 13, 2015 |
Is that your way of letting Allah off the hook? If yes, try harder. That verse of the Quran you just quoted is quoted out of context. It was referring to people fighting Jihad and killing infidels. Therefore, as a way of guilt-tripping others who had warned Mohammed not to fight for God and shed innocent blood, Mohammed tried to use death, which happens to all living things, to justify his actions. The same things ISIS members say to people who oppose them. By your analogy, why not jump in front of a trailer since we will all die someday? You may as well end your life today. Religion indeed clouds objectivity. 1 Like |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 3:28pm On Sep 13, 2015 |
^^^ Is that your way of letting Allah off the hook? If yes, try harder. That verse of the Quran you just quoted is quoted out of context. It was referring to people fighting Jihad and killing infidels. Therefore, as a way of guilt-tripping others who had warned Mohammed not to fight for God and shed innocent blood, Mohammed tried to use death, which happens to all living things, to justify his actions. The same things ISIS members say to people who oppose them. By your analogy, why not jump in front of a trailer since we will all die someday? You may as well end your life today. Religion indeed clouds objectivity. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by vedaxcool(m): 4:12pm On Sep 13, 2015 |
The verse is crystal clear, sir use your unclouded reasoning and successful avert death, if you fail to and be most assured you will then your we will have to conclude atheism affects not only people's ability to reason well but induces myopia. Best of luck in ur pursuit of immortality. 1 Like |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 5:06pm On Sep 13, 2015 |
Wait, death means Islam is true? And then helps in your quest for immortality? Care to explain how you come by that conclusion Sir? |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 7:18am On Sep 15, 2015 |
[b]CAN FOOLS BE USEFUL? The wisest man in the bible had 700 wives, 300 concubines. No invention to make human life easier. No cure for any diseases. Yet he's the wisest. And the foolish men (according to the Bible); -Mark Zuckerberg - founder of facebook. - Alan Turing. He's been called the founder of computer science, and the founder of artificial intelligence. - Francis Harry Compton: A molecular biologist , biophysicist , and neuroscientist , most noted for being a co-discoverer of the structure of the DNA molecule with James Watson. - Gaspard Monge: A mathematician, the inventor of descriptive geometry (the mathematical basis of technical drawing ), and the father of differential geometry. And many more of these foolish men who have done something to make life easy for humans. As Lemuel K. Washburn put it; "Of all the great inventions and discoveries that go to make human life easier, happier, richer and more glorious, not one can be laid to the work of theology. These triumphs all belong to science…. If man had no knowledge except what he was got out of the Bible he would not know enough to make a shoe. " Instead of embracing science in this part of the world, we embrace religion and busy ourselves with reading books where snake talked , donkey talked , a man flew to heaven with winged horse ......We believe and fill children's minds with these junks, how can we develop with these? How?.[/b] 14 Likes 9 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by PastorAIO: 10:15am On Sep 15, 2015 |
joseph1013: we can develop rich imaginations that traverse the boundaries of reality and unreality, and yield many fanciful things that will bring untold delights to our hearts. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 10:30am On Sep 15, 2015 |
PastorAIO: Care to elucidate and tell us how children filled with the junks of religion, like we have it here, can use it for our nation's benefit? |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by PastorAIO: 11:31am On Sep 15, 2015 |
joseph1013: One example, though probably not a very good one, is Bob Marley. Inspired by rastafarian religion wrote many beautiful songs that make so many people happy in the world even up until today. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 11:55am On Sep 15, 2015 |
PastorAIO: Yeah right! The same way Korede Bello was inspired by Christianity to sing GODWIN. I know so many people who express happiness singing that song. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by PastorAIO: 2:55pm On Sep 15, 2015 |
joseph1013: I've just checked the song out. Not really my flavour, but I liked the comedian in the beginning. If you need more examples check out the music of JS Bach, inspired by Lutheranism Check out the Hagia Sofia, inspired by Orthodox christianity. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Nobody: 3:41pm On Sep 15, 2015 |
malvisguy212: """but they seem to be at least young adults, since they are both engage in a trade. for their living""" How can they engage in a trade when for a living when only 4 people were existing in the world at that time. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by frank317: 6:24pm On Sep 15, 2015 |
chuna1985: Or perhaps even if there were other family member, how could they trade among themselves... Lol. Talking of trying to make sense out of nonsense 2 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by malvisguy212: 6:52am On Sep 16, 2015 |
chuna1985:it dosent matter the population, as long as the bible indicate ' Cain is a farmer and abel is a Shepard' |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Nobody: 8:32am On Sep 16, 2015 |
malvisguy212: The stupidity caused by Christianity n religion has reached the roof. 5 Likes |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by malvisguy212: 8:56am On Sep 16, 2015 |
chuna1985:alright. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 11:11am On Sep 16, 2015 |
[b]READ THIS BRILLIANT COMMON SENSE SUBMISSION BY A THISDAY COLUMNIST (Simon Kolawole) Did you hear about the container that fell off a trailer and killed a family of three in Lagos recently? It was the will of God, I was told, because if God had not willed it, there was no way the accident could have happened. You know the line: were it not for God's will, the container would have missed them by a few inches or they wouldn't have been on the road at that time. It was their destiny. Do you know how many containers regularly fall off trailers and crush people to death in Nigeria? Do you know that the last one is not going to be the last one? Do you know that there are rare cases of such accidents in some other countries — countries where the name of God is used as a curse word or as a joke? Why should God decide to be killing his children in Nigeria with containers all the time? I am wondering if it is God's will that safety standards should be enforced on our roads by those who rule over us. I am wondering if it is God's will that officials who certified a vehicle roadworthy should be called to account for their negligence after accidents. I am wondering if broken down vehicles should be left in the middle of the road at night. I am wondering if it is God's will that our streetlights should work so that people will stop dying in avoidable accidents at night. I am wondering if it God's will that our roads should be littered with potholes that serve as death traps, sending sorrows to homes on a daily basis. I am wondering if it God's will that hospitals are ill-equipped and people die daily from treatable ailments. Some years ago, a friend's younger brother fell ill at midnight. He managed to get a neighbour's car to take the brother to the hospital. He got to the gate of the estate and found it firmly locked. The security guard said they were under instruction not to open the gate until 6am. All pleadings fell on deaf ears. By the time somebody came to his senses and ordered the gate opened, it was too late. My friend's sibling had died right in the vehicle — according to "God's will". If God did not want the brother to die, the conventional wisdom declares, the brother would not have fallen ill at night when the gates were locked. In fact, the brother would not have fallen ill at all. My friend was traumatised for years and eventually relocated from Nigeria, unable to overcome the devastation. In godless countries, it is God's will that there should be emergency services. It is God's will that you dial a number at anytime of the day and the ambulance and paramedics show up. It is God's will that life-threatening cases are treated without any pre-condition of making cash deposits. But in our godly country, it is God's will, we are tutored, for bullet-wound victims to bleed to death. It is God's will that accident victims are abandoned to die because there is nobody to guarantee payment of hospital bills. It is God's will that our hospitals should be in a deplorable state, and the people who embezzled the funds and mismanaged the commonwealth are able to fly abroad for the best medical treatment, while the people are dying from typhoid and malaria. An older friend of mine is diabetic. He had managed his condition very well for years, for at least 10 years, until one fateful day in 2011. His wife was having her birthday. He decided to surprise her by taking a gift to her at her shop somewhere in Mushin, Lagos. As he parked his car and made to walk up to the shopping complex with the surprise package in his hand, his leg got stuck between the failing concrete slabs on the gutter. A few weeks later, he had to have his right leg amputated from below the knee. He subsequently lost his job — as there is no protection for disabled people in Nigeria — and spent a fortune rehabilitating himself, setting himself up in business and buying a prosthetic leg. I am even not calculating the emotional cost to his life. I was made to understand that it was "God's will" for my friend to experience what he did. Some will even go to the extent that maybe he had committed a sin and God wanted to punish him. Maybe he had done some evil to some people and it was Karma time. And I was thinking: but could it also be God's will that the local government should have maintained the gutters? Could it be God's will that the same council that sends thugs to harass traders and motorists to extort all kinds of taxes and levies from them should also care a bit about the safety of citizens? Could it be God's will that part of the millions of naira going into the coffers of councils should be spent on building a decent concrete slab on a gutter? Could it be God's will for the government to take responsibility for its failings?[/b] 4 Likes 2 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 8:33am On Sep 17, 2015 |
[b]WHO SHOULD BE COWERING IN SHAME? In November 1880, Charles Darwin received a request from a young barrister named FA McDermott. “If I am to have the pleasure of reading your books,” McDermott wrote, “I must feel that at the end I shall not have lost my faith in the New Testament. My reason in writing to you therefore is to ask you to give me a Yes or No to the question, 'Do you believe in the New Testament?' ” Darwin’s reply, penned on 24 November 1880 – exactly 21 years after the publication of On the Origin of Species – was blunt: Dear Sir, I am sorry to have to inform you that I do not believe in the Bible as a divine revelation & therefore not in Jesus Christ as the son of God. Yours faithfully Ch. Darwin Beginning in the late 1860s, a correspondent named Joseph Plimsoll addressed several letters to Darwin, “deeply solicitous for the salvation of your immortal soul”. In 1871, an anonymous “child of God” wrote: “Oh Man, Man, Man, why wrap yourself up in the dark theories of your own imagination; and spend your days in striving to prove ‘God’ a liar?” Similar fanmail followed. Perhaps Darwin was exhausted by the enquiries and the entreaties, or perhaps McDermott’s sincere appeal – coupled with an assurance that he would not publicise the answer – persuaded Darwin to tackle the subject directly. If you look at the above you will realise that since 18 kiridim the tool of the religious apologetic has been blackmail.... Lol. They tried it on Darwin.... But after keeping quiet for soo long, he finally replied. Just two years to his death... And was he blunt! I have come to realise that hiding your personal views and pretending to be what you aren't isn't the way to live... It frankly leaves you drained. Be yourself. Be bold and assert your beliefs. You are probably the smarter one, so why hide your non belief... Why cower so that people perpetrating and perpetuating ignorance will accept you. They should be the people cowering in shame... They should be the ones ashamed of saying publicly that they believe that a man walked on water, that 40 days of rain covered the world, that the world is 6000yrs old, that a man died and woke up after 3 days, that some medieval woman conceived without sex or artificial insemination, that donkeys talk, that chariots of fire run around in the sky ferrying people to utopia, the list is endless... Those that believe these things should hide their views not the skeptic who asks one simple question! PROVE IT![/b] 5 Likes 3 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by malvisguy212: 8:47am On Sep 17, 2015 |
joseph1013:Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together,saith the LORD." The Lord encourages Christians to think and to reason together. The Bible is full of common sense and wisdom. It has been demonstrated to be correct through practice, time, archeology discoveries, and scientific facts. It is not a leap into the unknown, but a leap based upon common sense and facts. Christians can be "case makers" precisely because the Christian faith is an evidential faith. When we, as Christians, argue for the truth of the Christian Worldview, we are not sharing an opinion. There either is a God, or there is not. Jesus is that God, or He is not. Salvation comes through Christ alone (as Jesus Himself maintained), or it does not. This is not a matter of opinion, personal preference or wishful thinking. The Christian faith is grounded in evidence that can be assessed and evaluated. The Christian faith is an evidential faith. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 8:22am On Sep 19, 2015 |
[b]RESPECT: WHAT IT IS AND WHY YOU SHOULDN'T BE BLACKMAILED The biggest fraud perpetrated on mankind rolls on in its march. For once, it is being challenged and put to test by reason and logic. So what does its proponents say and claim? Respect! That is the new fad in town. Daily my inbox is overflowing with advice and admonitions. It quite often goes like this: You are an Atheist, why not keep it to yourself. You mustn't reveal it to everyone and you should respect other people's beliefs. That is the latest weapon of religious people. They use terms coated in much feel good factor that they walk away smug and feel they have the moral high ground. But wait! Do they? The answer is simple and a lot of them know their point is flawed. In fact they don't do that and they shouldn't. Why should you respect other people's beliefs? To prove that their talk is a load of tosh, ask your average Christian what he thinks about Boko Haram.... That is another person's belief. In Nigeria those telling you to respect their belief mock what they term 'white garment church". One recently told me those ones aren't worshipping God. So let's make a list of beliefs we should respect: 1. Boko Haram. It is after-all their belief and if you take away political correctness, they are practising the Koran as it is written. 2. ISIS. Same as above. 3.Aztec sun worship. They are required to sacrifice a human to the sun... 4. Killing of twins. It was taboo in our culture to have twins. We should have respected such beliefs. So my dear young humanists, when they harass you and try to guilt you into keeping quiet about the ills of religion, don't accept their views...talk. Criticise the baloney! We need to let the religious in power know they do not have the right to lord their religion over us. If they want to go without sex, alcohol or gambling, that is their choice—but don’t make it so other people have to do the same. Because there is nothing quite like drunken fornication on a poker table.. Yes you have the right to a belief, and I have the right to criticise it. Let's make it a fair world![/b] 4 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 2:32pm On Sep 20, 2015 |
[b]QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Skeptic: A rich man wanted to save his child from a kidnapper who demanded for a ransom of N5m. He promised himself never to pay the ransom or involve the police. Instead he asked a group of assassins to seek the kidnapper's children and kill them as well as locate the kidnapper's brothers, sisters and cousins, and kill their children too. Since it was a high profile job, he paid the assassins more than twice the random sum. What do you think of that man? Christian: Wow! He killed all those people just to save his child? That's wickedness. He should simply have paid the ransom. Why involve innocent children? He should have just killed the kidnapper and left those children. The man is a psychopath. Simple! Skeptic: But why did God not just kill the Pharaoh and set the Israelites free instead of hardening his heart while killing innocent first born sons who had absolutely no hand in whatever was going on just to prove a point to the Pharaoh? Christian: You can't understand these things with a carnal mind! God works in mysterious ways! His standards are not our standards! In fact, this is atheist haughtiness! A pot does not question its potter! You're an idiot! Stop questioning God, you will burn in hell. [/b] 7 Likes 6 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 9:11am On Sep 24, 2015 |
[b]THE LIKEABLE POPE? Everyone seems to be on the bandwagon for how wonderful Pope Francis is this week. How awesome he is! How nice he is to people! How likable! How he drives a Kia instead of a Pope-mobile! In all this, let's not forget that he still oversees an organization that's been guilty of more child-rape and child-molestation than any other organization in the world..... ....and which covers up these incidents by sending the priests to new dioceses rather than bring them to justice. I think it's great that he's promulgating some modern, worthwhile ideas worth thinking. Inclusivity is a good thing. Too bad they didn't have this approach for all these centuries when they, instead, told people that they need to give money to the Church to pray their dead babies into heaven.... ....or told people that they risk eternal damnation if they refuse to give their valuables to the Church.... ...or engaged in centuries of rape, murder, war, torture of heretics and other atrocities. Yes, I think it's great that the Catholic Church is making some concessions that are softer than they have been. But, these things are a response to the fact that we, as a society, are far less tolerant of oppression than we've ever been. And it's worth remembering that they had a very different attitude when they were the ones holding the hammer.[/b] |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 5:40pm On Sep 25, 2015 |
THE THINKING GAP However we look at this, the Hajj this year was a tragedy. It's been a bad year but not the worst. In recent years, the worst was 1990 when 1,426 pilgrims were killed. You would think this death toll would make Muslims stop and wonder why Allah allows his most devoted followers to be slaughtered in their hundreds. They will dream up excuses but few will come to the most parsimonious explanation--that there is no God looking out for them. It is numbing to hear survivors say, "I depend upon Allah's protection. I am very sad but this is their fate and destiny. Allah bless their souls and I wish they go to heaven."† Are people really this incapable of rational thought? Sadly, yes. †BBC News 25 September 2015 3 Likes 2 Shares |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 4:14pm On Sep 27, 2015 |
THE PONTIFICATION ILLUSION One who goes to evangelise or debate with another and keeps shouting 'the Bible says' or 'the Koran says' must assume or be under illusion that the other person accepts the contents of his book as absolutely valid. Imagine a Christian quoting the Bible to a Muslim, atheist or Muslim quoting the Koran to a Christian, Hindu. I think one who cannot defend the validity of his spiritual beliefs without necessarily turning to the 'holy books' is a spiritual neophyte. |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 9:25am On Sep 29, 2015 |
CONGRATULATIONS NIGERIA! Congratulations to my very dear Country, Nigeria on achieving its first full year with no new cases of polio. This has been achieved by vigorously implementing a vaccination programme in the face of strong opposition. The plan originally was to eradicate new cases of polio by 2003 but baseless warnings from Muslim clerics that polio vaccines were a Western plot to reduce Muslim fertility slowed progress to the point where, in 2006, Nigeria accounted for half of all new polio cases worldwide. Faith-based stupidity has consequences. These warnings deterred many families from accepting the vaccine and, as a result, hundreds of children have needlessly died or become paralysed for the rest of their lives. But now, 12 years later than planned, we can celebrate a Nigerian success story and we can be grateful to those voices of reason who persevered with the vaccination program. Science-based medicine works, faith does not. 1 Like 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 12:22pm On Sep 30, 2015 |
[b]UNRELATED NEWS [size=14pt]Was God Angry the Day He Created the Nigerian?[/size] By Pius Adesanmi. Ottawa. Airport. In the lounge. I make a rich selection from the buffet and settle approvingly on a French wine. It's still three hours to the boarding of that flight to London and on to homeland. The plan: enjoy a meal, and settle down to Frenchwining while mentally visualizing the delivery of my speech, "Hating Nigeria to Greatness" at The Platform 2015 on Independence Day. Tweak the speech here and there. Envision the cadence of delivery. Envision stage management and body movement with Chris Oyakhilome's stage practice always a guide. You see, prosperity Pentecostal Pastors do have their uses after all. I spend hours watching Chris Oyakhilome's videos to learn from his uses of the stage... When you have such grandiose pre-flight plans, do not sit in front of a flatscreen in the lounge. Your plans will be ruined. It's a local TV station. News time. Dominated by the impending Canadian election. Then they mention funeral rights for some people who were killed by a drunk driver. Then the anchor says that the three contenders for the Prime Minister position have been weighing in on the tragic road accident which led to loss of lives. In Brampton, Ontario, two children and their grandfather were killed this week by a drunk driver. They show footage of Prime Minister Harper regretting the loss of precious Canadian lives in the said road accident. They show footage of the other contestants mourning. Everybody is lamenting the loss of lives on the road and calling for stricter measures against drunk driving. I marvel at the Canadian culture of life and thank God for the privilege of Canada. But my evening is ruined all the same. The expensive French wine is now bitter. My food is now cold. It is going to be a long agonizing flight to London. Why is Nigeria made differently? Why is the Nigerian made differently? So much value for the life of the citizen here in Canada. Above all differences, these bitter Canadian political rivals are uniting to value the life of the Canadian. A drunk driving incident leading to the loss of lives is making national news in Canada? Boko Haram will have to kill at least 100 Nigerian babies to make the news these days in Nigeria. The drunk driver who killed Canadians on the road will pay. No questions asked. Make the same guy a Nigerian and try to prosecute him. Then you hear: ======================================= Is he the first Nigerian to drink and drive? How many people did he kill sef? Yorubas are worse drunk drivers and nothing happens to them. Hausas are worse drunk drivers and nothing happens to them. Igbos are worse drunk drivers and nothing happens to them. Why are you witch hunting him just because he made a mistake of drinking and driving? Is it because he is a Christian? Is it because he is a Muslim? Go and hug a transformer if you don't like our culture. Go and die if you don't like our religion. Even in America and Britain, people sometimes drink and drive. Besides, this so-called drunk driver that you are witch hunting has contributed IMMENSALY to the development of Nigeria. You are just a hater for persecuting him. =================================================== So I ask my almighty God: who annoyed you the day you created the Nigerian?[/b] |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 9:18pm On Oct 01, 2015 |
HOW GULLIBLE ARE YOU? If you are a god-believer and have decided one god is real and all others are fictional, I would like you to consider how hard you thought about this belief before you accepted it as true. How long did you search for contrary evidence? How rigorously did you challenge the arguments to ensure they are sound? How much did you learn about other gods, other religions and about atheism, before you came to your belief? You don't have to tell me the answer but be honest with yourself. Are you confident you have been thorough, open-minded and honest? If not, you should conclude you believe in your god, not because you have good reason, but because you are gullible. You don't have to admit that to me of course, but please, admit it to yourself. 4 Likes 1 Share |
| Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 6:32am On Oct 03, 2015 |
[b]OPIUM SERVED ON A PLATTER OF IGNORANCE The preaching was like a cocktail of lies and the whole place seemed a cult of self deception. Yesterday I listened to a big Lagos televangelist telling his congregation that the drop in oil income will not affect them and they will live in abundance, totally unaffected by Nigeria's economy. I felt let down. Yes, I know I should not, but I still did. I felt, why do these Pastorpreneurs continue to deceive the people? He ought to know better. He is sufficiently educated to have a more balanced approach. On the iceberg's tip, some of the parishioners he is addressing won't be home from that service until after hours in hellish traffic in a malignantly grown city that has no reasonable mass transport. I know people who are God-believers from different sects in Christianity who are suffering in this land as a direct result of economic downturn and lawlessness. They are being fooled to think Nigeria is not affecting them. They won't have friends, nieces etc who will be stopped from work? All those hungry faces don't affect you deeply? How can such people even pray for the country? How can they love the country? How can they serve with heart and might? It is silly arrogance and wilful blindness to say that's fact from the bible To deny those things puts you on an arrogant or a capricious pedestal or both. It is rubbish to try selling the notion that people can afford to be careless about society and expect to be ensconced in a bubble of divine provision. I know many honest religionists who are overwhelmed trying to help people financially but cannot do much simply because the inflow is just not there. God has not been proven to exist so he cannot print naira please. Money will come from innovation and productive work, not magic and rancid superstition that man was trying to establish as God's truth. Christians, even if gullible to believe in god without proof, ought to have some stability and clear headedness over these matters and stop exposing themselves to ridicule by saying daft and sloppy things. See, that preacher apparently lives in a bubble of tithes and offerings and he is not affected by the horrible Nigerian economic situation. Well, it is easy when people contribute for you to spend and you can become quite insulated and calloused. But those members face some reality at bus stops and inside filthy public transport and in the field of job search. Either you are being deceitful or deeply uncaring or both to preach that sort of thing please. Enough of self self self self self-centered homilies. Stop lying to them. I know it is affecting them and will continue to affect them! And as Nigeria gets better, you'll soon be out of business, Mr. Preacher. Mark my words![/b] 4 Likes |
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