₦airaland Forum

The only way to know if God is talking to you is to check if what you have heard confiorms to the character of God as you perceive Him - Bible for Xtians; K'oran for M'uslims; Torah for Jews etc.
For example, if you hear a voice asking you to make three quotations on three letterheads of fake, unregistered company so you can smart[/b]ly win a super inflated contract to share the proceeds with the civil servants or private company executives overseeing the tendering/bidding process, you surely are not hearing from God and it does not matter if you give testimony and 100% ogf the illicit profit to your church (= pastor [b]but not equal to [/color]God). Maybe you heard from the guy who promised Christ the world in this Matthew 4 conversation:

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

It is interesting to note that all texts on blessings that have been overflogged by our prosperity pastors are preceeded by a [color=#990000]requirement of righteousness.
You may also refer to Jeremiah 9: 23-24 for the Christian standard of checking if God is the one talking to you.

The market is correcting itself, basically. The wind of speculation (margin trading) that has been sustaining the bloated baloon that is our NSE could not be sustained for ever.
Those who are in for short term gains will panic but those who are in for the long term and can wait it out i.e. no emergency cash needs that obliges you to sell won't lose out.
Also, fundamentally the NSE was riding on hot air as the fundamentals of the Nigerian economy are not strong and solid enough. AN economy where a Minister says there is 80% unemployment, the Organised Private sector says factories are operating at less than 40% installed capacity and where income distribution is skewed to the very rich without a large and viable middle-class as well as Small Medium Enterprises is bound to end up in trouble sooner or later. That does not include factories that have been turned into churches that mostly depend on sent-downs from Europe and America that is not supported with local production/productivity. Ther eis just so much that we can do through buying & selling.
Moreover, for as long as we prefer imported goods including toothpicks rather than locally produced goods our economic fundamentals will remain in shambles. Add to that the leakage of politicians and corporate executives stashing money away abroad.

I think it might be useful to check out some museums, they should have some materials on traditional archy and maybe how it has evolved/changed over time. You can then identify how that trend has continued or not into the mud constructions of today.
But I think you not focus on the WOW effect too much/only, but rather see how you can use the research as a basis for bringing some uniqueness into your later career.
Best of luck.

No mind d yeye man. Make we return to naija to stay in the world's first(?) boat hotel acquired(?) for EUR25 million https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115423.0.html.

Meanwhile flood, unemployment & armed robbery dey everywhere, wasted public schools, hospitals etc and worse still he prefers to use expatriate town planners to redesign Lagos & Lekki (http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/homes_property/article04//indexn3_html?pdate=280408&ptitle=Planners,%20firm%20in%20dispute%20over%20boycott%20of%20Lekki%20masterplan%20contract&cpdate=300408). Why That way he can launder his loot abroad easily and continue to send his family and kids there, while telling MUGUS who care to listen to come back home that he, Tinubu & co are busy making a living hell for those who can't/won't join them in the looting unlimited.
Who be fool

Jumbo Salary: NLC Seeks Inclusion of Workers
08.20.2008


The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded the inclusion of workers in the new jumbo pay recently approved for legislators by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC).
A statement issued by President of the Union, Abdulwaheed Omar said workers were equally entitled to such increament.
"The fresh 100% per cent increase in the emoluments of legislators and local government chairpersons and councilors is worrisome. We are concerned by the rather high margins of this and frequent increases in the emoluments of political office-holders.
"This fresh increase has hideously distorted the reasonable relativity that had historically existed between the salaries of elected office-holders and public employees. Therefore, there is need to restore this relativity by fundamentally adjusting the salaries of public employees", he said.
According to Omar "this increase will invariably add to the already bloated cost of maintaining public office-holders, which now constitute a huge drain on the development process. Given Nigeria's current level of development and the need to ensure prudent use of resources, the nation can ill-afford the massive cost of running government, much of which go into the allowances of office-holders"."The NLC insists that the prevailing adverse economic circumstances in the country exert even more serious negative impact on workers. Therefore, the system should be able to accommodate even higher margins of increase for workers, who are suffering untold erosion of the value of their income. Workers should not be left out of the process of review of wages and allowances, since they suffer even more. What is good for Political Office-Holders is good for Workers", he noted.

Source: http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=120202

anonimi:
Grappling with a thousand daemons at Ibadan
By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

Akara-Ogun makes another journey into the heart of the forest of a thousand demons to behold the much-adored Iranlowo. He discounts all even omens such as hitting his left leg on a stone and seeing his kola nuts go awry. He is nearly done in by a menacing dwarf only for Iranlowo to reappear with the advice that all Akara-Ogun needed to survive was his brain, the only true weapon for man's freedom. Akara-Ogun thus gets the dwarf to eat cooked yam instead of its raw form and convinces him that the gun contains water, only to promptly shoot the dreadful midget to death.

The bold portion seems to suggest that Yoruba religion promotes using one's brain to its limit BEFORE asking God to intervene.
Apparently, we are well endowed to think , but will rather waste our thinking "talent" by burying it and still ask God to deliver us from our self-inflicted misery.
What a shame

Grappling with a thousand daemons at Ibadan
By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

IBADAN has a strong pedigree in live theatre in Nigeria. It was no surprise therefore to visit Ibadan recently to watch the preview of a play whose live performance across four cities in Nigeria would have aficionados screaming for more. Chams plc is at the vanguard of the upcoming presentation of adaptations of D.O. Fagunwa's classic novel, Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole. Our own Nobel playwright Wole Soyinka translated that epic in the 70s into English with the arresting title of The Forest of a Thousand Daemons.

Prof Femi Osofisan, himself an outstanding playwright and trainer of performing artistes, has the commission to carry out a theatrical adaptation of Fagunwa's novel for an English audience. Chams also commissioned Prof Akinwunmi Isola, author, dramatist, down-to-earth academic, and Nollywood star, to do a similar thing for a Yoruba audience.

The journey to Ibadan was at the instance of Temitope Lakisokun, the charming CEO of Insider Concepts Ltd, and the firm that handles communications for Chams. I love their I AM CHAMS campaign, but that is a story for another day! She knew that one could hardly ever say no to an offer of the live theatre. Chams' CEO, the personable Demola Aladekomo, Prof Akinwunmi Ishola whom I informed that I acted in his play Madam Tinubu as a first year student of the then University of Ife, Prof Biodun Jeyifo, Femi Fatoba were among those who watched the preview of Osofisan's play.

As the major consultant to the project, Osofisan informed us that he and Akinwunmi Ishola undertook to do two completely different adaptations. The two authors decided they would not talk to one another until they finished their work. You could liken the result to a matrix, doing two plays or two productions, as it were. The Yoruba cast was holed up in Ife with Dr Kola Oyewo as director while the English group stayed in Ibadan with Dr Tunde Awosanmi as director. They worked together for one month but, as Osofisan quipped, "Man proposes, NEPA disposes!"

The preview we saw in Ibadan was, according to Osofisan, still "a work in progress." The play is clearly a remove from Wale Ogunyemi's Langbodo, which was Nigeria's entry in FESTAC 1977. Ogunyemi's Langbodo also drew heavily from Fagunwa's book. Osofisan's Adventures in the Forest of a Thousand Demons starts on a high with the triumphant Akara-Ogun regaling the village with his audacious visit and safe return from the forest of demons. He bids his adoring audience to make merry, asking them to eat and drink as much as they could ever want, much to the chagrin of the monarch of the land. The play re-enacts Akara-Ogun's life-and-death battle with the dreaded Agbako in which the over-matched hero was only saved from sure death by the timely arrival of the adorable spirit Iranlowo. Akara-Ogun falls madly in love with Iranlowo but she would not follow him back to the world of the humans, only promising that she would always come to his aid.

Akara-Ogun makes another journey into the heart of the forest of a thousand demons to behold the much-adored Iranlowo. He discounts all even omens such as hitting his left leg on a stone and seeing his kola nuts go awry. He is nearly done in by a menacing dwarf only for Iranlowo to reappear with the advice that all Akara-Ogun needed to survive was his brain, the only true weapon for man's freedom. Akara-Ogun thus gets the dwarf to eat cooked yam instead of its raw form and convinces him that the gun contains water, only to promptly shoot the dreadful midget to death.

The king of the land who is ill at ease with the loud mouth of Akara-Ogun asks him to undertake the impossible journey of getting to the very top of the fabled Mount Langbodo. Akara-Ogun selects a handful of crack hunters to go on the unprecedented trip. The irrepressible warriors encounter all kinds of odds until they are almost very dispirited, not knowing actually if Mount Langbodo ever existed. The final scene features the freeing of a tiger in its cage. The tiger promptly takes him captive only for Iranlowo to appear with the old advice that he should apply the brain to get the tiger back into the cage and to lock it inside. Key lessons from the saga are Gratitude, Compassion, Industry, and Honesty.

The performance is a rousing advertisement of total theatre. Music, dance, and well-spiced proverbs hold up the eagle feather of the grand performance. Ify Agwu as Iranlowo played the part with requisite aplomb while Tunde Adeyemo, Toyin Oshinake, Steve James held their forte. They delivered their lines with considerable mastery, and one wonders at the riveting prospect of seeing the full performance of the actual premiere of the play in Lagos in September. The plays, in Yoruba and English, will grace sundry stages at Ibadan, Ife, Abuja, and Lagos in due course.
,
,
,

Uzoatu a poet and novelist, lives in Lagos

Source: http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/editorial_opinion/article03/indexn3_html?pdate=180808&ptitle=Grappling%20with%20a%20thousand%20daemons%20at%20Ibadan&cpdate=180808

Builder:
@ Anonimi

Who would educate this people of their rights and responsibilities?  when the money  meant to educate them are been channelled in to private accounts, mismanaged or used for lavish parties,

What I am saying is you & I, ordinary yet educated/knowledgeable citizens, can do our very little, maybe insignificant quota consistently and see how little drops of water gradully make a river. We cannot complain alone from morning till night and expect change. We need to be the change oursleves no matter how small our contribution.
One other thing is do we have to go to their lavish parties or even do ours in competition with them? These are some of the little steps of change you & I can take. Can you imagine if they don't see many invited guests at their parties
I hope we will face up to our reality gradually.

proo212

He was here a couple of months ago when Adedibu died and he was on the phone to Nigeria organising a bus load of rented supporters to go and weep at Adedibu's house. So those people celebrating are rented supporters. How come all of them were wearing the same clothes (according to you guys anyways, I didn't get to see the spectacle)  

I didn't get to meet with him because I just don't regard him (He's a thief, like a lot of people like him).

Thanks proo212 for your comportment vis-a-vis these thieves in our midst whose acts make us under-employed but overworked in foreing lands and even at home.
I hope more people will do the same so these thieves have one less reward, hence motivation, for stealing i.e. adoration by the deprived or is it depraved citizens.

@ All of us yarning for here,

* How many of the potential hungry recruits have we educated on their rights and the responsibility of these politician thieves to them
* Better still how many have we fed, paid school fees for, given our used clothes, relieved from the poverty in one way or another so he is less susceptible to the next "renter"

Let's answer those questions and make amends as necessary and see if the change we so desire will not slowly but surely start to happen.

I think this quote from Jeremiah 9 might be appropriate here:

23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

On religion and rationalism
By Tolu Ogunlesi

I READ Jide Akeredolu's piece, "Why I am a rationalist,"in The Guardian (Friday, August 1, 2008) with much interest. It is a well written article, and the author makes his point eloquently.

The seven arguments that Mr. Akeredolu advances as reasons why "(he is) grateful to be a rationalist rather than a religious believer" all make near-perfect sense - viewed from a certain perspective. Every one of these reasons is juxtaposed against organised religion, and his verdict is this: It makes far more sense to be a rationalist. Compared to the Christian or Moslem or the 'Traditionalist' the rationalist seems to have little or no baggage to lug through life, argues Mr. Akeredolu.

I must commend him for his wisdom in smartly skirting the boundaries of out-and-out atheism in his piece, knowing that the easiest way to alienate people from your argument in a religion-obsessed country like ours is to raise the 'No God' flag. (The result would have been a clogging of The Guardian's email account with letters quoting that famous line in the Book of Psalms, "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God!". It is clear that Mr. Akeredolu's aim is not to get himself enmeshed in the kind of needless controversy that surrounds "Is there a God?" debates; instead he seeks to make a sensible point, and perhaps stimulate healthy discussion.

But it is at this point that I must state my case against Mr. Akeredolu: I think that he commits an error in portraying 'rationalism' (or at least certain aspects of it) and religiosity as strictly mutually-exclusive entities. I am forced to ask myself: is it not possible to acceptably combine religiosity and 'rationalism' (reason; common sense; initiative). Must we always approach life with this "schizophrenic" approach that splits it into mutually exclusive camps of the 'Rationalists' and the 'Religious'? Are those our only two options as human beings?

Reason No. 4 for rationalism, in the Rationalist Gospel According to Jide Akeredolu, is this (in his words): "I love real people. I don't give imaginary gods and friends priority over the relationship I have with real people. Religious people risk letting their relationship with their imaginary friends and beings get in the way of their relationship with real people"

I now ask the question: does the fact that religious people "risk letting their relationship with their imaginary friends and beings get in the way of their relationship with real people" mean that 'religion' in itself does not "make sense"? Do we not know that a lot of the teachings of Jesus Christ (allow me to wisely stick to what - or who - I know) concern matters of love and of human relationships? The "Golden Rule" that Akeredolu lives by, "treat others the way you will like to be treated" - does he know its origins? Is he aware that versions of that "Ethic of Reciprocity" have been found in virtually all major religions in the world? Is he aware that Jesus Christ defined "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" as the 'Second Great Commandment'?

Mr. Akeredolu also said: "I am proactive, and I like to take my destiny in my own hands. I set goals and I go for them. I don't believe in praying for the things I want in life, nor do I think praying for other people does anything to help them." My interpretation of this is that he has come to the conclusion that religious persons (i.e. non-rationalists) are, as someone humorously described, "so heaven-conscious that they are of no earthly good." And then I ask: does being a believer in God automatically preclude diligent goal-setting, hard work, and the use of one's brain? I think not. It is however sad that, the way a lot of Christians act this days, one is tempted to agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Akeredolu.

Churches and Christians are the ones giving Christianity a bad name. Religion, a wise man once claimed, is the opium of the people. Nowhere is this truer than in Nigeria. The early Christians were known for their Christ-like conduct; today's (Nigerian) Christians are known chiefly for the ' supernatural' traffic jams they cause on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway every now and then; for the architectural masterpieces they put up in the middle of near-shanties and potholed roads; and for their sometimes over-simplistic "all-you-can-claim" gospels.

Society as a whole also conspires to give God a bad name, and to reinforce the erroneous rationalist/religious dichotomy. I sometimes wonder why we bother to elect Presidents, Governors and other public office holders when it is self-evident that we have abandoned all matters of governance to the Almighty God, only to end up blaming Him for 'non-performance.' Only a week or so ago, our former President Olusegun Obasanjo advised that "whatever you don't have, then leave everything to God". That would have made sense, had he not been referring specifically to the national darkness that his government failed to dispel, and for which billions of dollars went down the proverbial (Switzerland-bound) drain.

Not too long ago too, the newspapers carried reports of fiery prayer sessions embarked upon by teachers in across the country, seeking divine intervention regarding their pay package crisis. I could only come to the conclusion that a country where public servants (and teachers for that matter) have to pray before they can get their entitlements - after laboring at the task of raising new generations of educated Nigerians - must be a failed country.

My conclusion, from all the above, is simple. Nigeria's 'faith' people should endeavour to strike the proper balance between religion and rational thinking. God gave human beings a brain, as well as a soul/spirit. One must not be made to suffer because of another.

And of course, we should stop disturbing God for unnecessary things! If Sierra Leone or Rwanda is without power supply, we can blame their wars for the devastation of infrastructure. And for those wars we might even get away with blaming all manner of devils and evil spirits (on the assumption that the evils of war seem to be beyond ordinary human ability). But when Nigeria - one of the world's largest producers of crude oil, blessed with infinite supplies of natural gas, and coal, and rivers, and an absence of civil war - has to spend its days and nights without power supply, no one in their right minds should look for any devils to blame. Instead we should pick mirrors up and look into them to find the culprits. And instead of wasting time casting named and unnamed electricity-sucking devils to hellfire, we should be looking for pot-bellied Thieves, elected and appointed, to cast into the farthest reaches of Gusau and Abeokuta Prisons.

There is a Hell out there (from where the rich man in the Bible must have begged for a drop of water to cool his tongue) but there is a more pressing Hell right here in our midst - in the giant craters on our roads, and the overwhelming darkness of our streets at night; in the giant balls of fire that accompany the explosion of petrol tankers or vandalized pipelines, and in the rubble from our ever-collapsing buildings. And there is of course hell in the gnashing of teeth that follows every one of these avoidable tragedies.

Hell is other people, observed a character in No Exit, a play by Jean-Paul Sartre. You won't doubt that observation the next time you are stuck in a nine-hour traffic jam caused by one of the many religious organisations that dot the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Hell is overworked pilots flying 'tokunboh' planes onto cow-strewn, potholed runways in radar-less airports. Hell is poorly-paid doctors and nurses making their way with kerosene lanterns in the surgical theatres of teaching hospitals. Hell is the dead fishes and shriveled crops and oil-laden streams and smoke-choked air of the Niger delta's villages.

God will not come down to fill potholes or build power stations. He will not miraculously conjure money to pay teachers' salaries, certainly not when he has given us more 'black gold' than most nations of the earth. And he will not decree the much-awaited "Made-in-Nigeria" car into existence.

The challenge for us therefore is this: while we - who express a belief in God - hold on to our faiths, let us also keep our brains. Let us, while serving God, make use of our brains to create solutions to the many problems that ail our nation. And let us not fall into the trap of assuming that to be religious is to be without 'reason' or genuine love, or that in order to settle for 'reason' we must of necessity repudiate our faith in an Almighty God.


Ogunlesi lives in Lagos

Source: http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/editorial_opinion/article04//indexn2_html?pdate=130808&ptitle=On%20religion%20and%20rationalism

See the earlier article here: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-156661.0.html

@ poster,

I like to think you are a professional somewhere giving valuable services to your clients there.
Have you thought of retaining the services of an Estate surveyor & valuer to get you an apartment? Normally, you the prospective tenant will not pay but rather teh landlord pays for securing him a client.
Good luck.

liftedone:
I have a cousin who has a hotel in Omole GRA, there's a penthouse in the hotel with two rooms. You can check the site www.villasofiacourts.com. I can ask for a discount from him for the penthouse. Check and give me a feedback so that I can see what I can do if it's ok for your friends.

Thanks for your helpful and detailed responses to this thread- quite informative . I also just visited the web site and the structure/layout looks ok. Do you know anything about their service quality?
When you say the penthouse has two rooms do you mean two bed[/b]rooms apart from the sitting & dining area? Does the penthouse have [b]a kitchen?

beninman:
@ rockhaven

I HAV short letss for u in lekki and adeniyi jones area.please call segun ojemuyiwa on 08033043242.see my webpage www.rockhavensolicitorsnigeria.page.tl
it is 50k per day

Oga Sege see wetin your web page dey show:

Sorry, we are having server problems! Please be patient, while we try to solve the problem.

I guess it is indicative of what level of service to expect from your 50k/night lekki short lets. Oga lawyer. maybe you should engage other qualified professionals in IT, Estate management, hospitality to make your venture worthwhile and not just think sey i-get-property-for-lekki so everyone must hail.

Gobi38:
@lucabrasi - try the link below, I used their service the last time I was in Lagos.

http://www.makeitnigeria.com/

I just visited their web site and it looks impressive,  I hope their service quality was good and consistent.
For those who are complaining about the rates, that's what we get for being laid back and condoning the thieves amongst us who invariably are our friends, relations, ex-school mates, church (religious group) mates etc. We need to educate ourselves that what touches one touches all.  When most employers- government & private- feel they are doing you a favour to pay your salary on time not minding that it could be pittance such as what teachers and civil servants as well as those in small one-man businesses get, this is the result; an ever widening rich-poor gap. There is also no effective redistribution of income through progressive taxation
The Yorubas say: Irorun igi ohun ni irorun eiye- When the tree is ok, the bird on it is also ok.
However let's hope that as more entrepreneurs get involved in this short let serviced apartment business, the prices will start going down.
Moreover, we need to change our mentality of building a house and locking it up for 48 weeks or more only so you can use it for 4 weeks or less when you visit. Sheer waste of resources. rather you should rent it and use the income to pay for your 4-week stay in a serviced apartment. If and when you relocate finally to Nigeria you can reclaim, refurbish and stay in your house or even sell it to build something more appropriate to your tastes then.

First of all congrats to poster.
However, I think you and others should note this quote from someone:

"Authentic religious leaders have always admonished: pray as if all depends on God; WORK as if all depends on you"

Reading through these "testimonies" it is obvious you guys worked extra hard compared to those sitting by and claiming and receiving "miracles" and phantom blessings from scammers (mis)representing God.
I wish you all the best and hope you will share your hard work testimony also with others so they kearn from you.

Kola,

You should also have added these (few examples) to give a balanced view:

1 Tim. 5: 8 - But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Luke 14:28 - For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Now, I'm not saying that religious leaders aid and abet untoward things;

@poster,

So if they are not aiding and abetting the mistresses to commit adultery, second marriage and corruption to finance the escapades, what exactly are the religious leaders doing then
I hope sey u no mind to explain that one.
Anyway, good write-up. MOSTLY true.

[quote author=$$Rhino link=topic=156903.msg2641982#msg2641982 date=1218476820]and if yu read the bible very well, tithes and offerings is one of the commandments that came with a promise to it.[/quote]* Do you understand when Jesus said: I have not come to change the law but to FULFIL it
* Have you read Hebrews 7: 1-12? What does it say about tithe and CHRIST[/b]ians
* Do you realise that tithes were to be made as sacrificial offerings to be [b]burnt on the altar in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ became the ultimate (last of such) sacrifies through His death on the Cross, hence He FULFILLED the law and made Grace available unto us
* Try reading Malachi 1 and see the rebuke directed at priests and Levites for burning stale and low quality tithes despite receiving from the Israelites in accordance with Deuteronomy 14: 22-29

My dear, please, please & please study your Bible and I don't mean ONLY those over-quoted texts on victory over your enemy, prospering without doing ANYTHING, divine favours etc but rather on the nature of God, the teachings and life practices of Christ and the early Apostles. See Jeremiah 9: 23-24
Shalom

[quote author=sly-k link=topic=158310.msg2640348#msg2640348 date=1218461153]my bros, the gospel is free but not cheap.[/quote]are you confused or just trying to mugulize people as those (mis)representing God are doing from the altar nowadays

[quote author=sly-k link=topic=158310.msg2640348#msg2640348 date=1218461153]MEN of God MUST look different, if you desire that join the train. its quite free.[/quote]Sure, they should look like the Bible said of Jesus, his Apostles and those who were first described as Christians in Antioch.

Quote from: $$Rhino

i totally agree with you, but will depends on how big the church is as well, because in a very big church, will be so hard for the pasttor to even know who has food to eat and who doesnt

,

* Did you read the story of Christ feeding the 5,000 men, beside women & children in Matthew 14
* I thought the MoG is annointed to have visions and word of knowledge regarding needs of people in his church so he can "bless" them.
* If the pastor has problems dealing with a "very big church" maybe he should limit himself to the size where he can properly receive "holy spirit leadings" onm the needs of his flock

With the scam going on about tithes and gradually transforming to a call for seed sowing as the tithe scam is unravelling, it is obvious why more selfish, greedy people are claiming to (mis)represent God to the gullible sheeple. See this for example:

It seems you have not realised the scam being practised by those MoGs requesting Christians to pay tithes. Maybe you need to read this:

As a sequel to my previous posts about the the mis-information being preached in our churches about tithesI hereby present a court scenario in which the good pastor stands before the Great Judge of all the earth, the Lord Jesus Christ, on this subject. I came across this post when i checked on a link supplied by one of the contributors to a previous thread. Enjoy the conversation:

Jesus: Enoch, you have been charged with multiple counts of extortion. Your crime spree covers 20 years and thousands of victims. You have defrauded people out of their money with fear and manipulation, telling them they had to tithe 10% of their income to your church and that God would bless them if they did. You also told them that if they didn’t tithe they would go to hell. How do you plead?

Pastor Enoch: I plead not guilty, sir. I have done nothing wrong. I have only preached what the Bible says. In the Bible Abraham tithed to Melchizedek and God blessed him for his faithful giving. The Bible even says he was rich in silver and gold.

Jesus: Is it not true, Enoch, that in Genesis chapter 13 verse 2 the Bible says Abraham was rich with livestock, silver and gold?

Pastor Enoch: Yes, you are exactly right, that’s what I just told you.

Jesus: Ok, we read about Abraham being a rich man in chapter 13. But it is not until Genesis chapter 14 that we read about Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek. So Abraham was already a rich man before he tithed to Melchizedek, wasn’t he?

Pastor Enoch: Yes, I suppose you are right.

Jesus: So his riches were not the result of his tithe to Melchizedek?

Pastor Enoch: No.

Jesus: Enoch, you also say God blessed him for his faithful giving. How many times is it recorded that Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek?

Pastor Enoch: Well, just once.

Jesus: So the Bible never said that he gave week after week?

Pastor Enoch: No it does not.

Jesus: Where did Abraham get the things that he gave to Melchizedek?

Pastor Enoch: Well, the Bible says it was from the plunders of war?

Jesus: So you are telling me that he gave from the plunders of war?

Pastor Enoch: Yes that’s what the Bible says.

Jesus: So he basically took things that were not really his in the first place and gave them as the tithe?

Pastor Enoch: That is what the scripture seems to indicate.

Jesus: Is it recorded that he ever took anything from his own possessions and tithed them to Melchizedek or anyone else?

Pastor Enoch: I guess not

Jesus: You guess not! You pastor one of the largest denominations and you are only guessing? Is it or is it not written that he ever gave any of his own possessions as a tithe to anyone?

Pastor Enoch: No; it is not written anywhere that I have seen.

Jesus: Is it recorded as to what exactly Abraham did give Melchizedek?

Pastor Enoch: I believe it says plunder?

Jesus: So plunder could be any number of things?

Pastor Enoch: Yes, I suppose

Judge: It could have been food, cattle, sheep, the people’s possessions or any number of things. It does not say it was all money correct?

Pastor Enoch: Yes; sir. You are correct; it does not say just money.

Jesus: As a matter of fact, money is never mentioned in that account at all; is that correct, Enoch?

Pastor Enoch: Yes, sir; money is never mentioned; just goods and food and people.

Jesus: So there is no way you can say with any certainty that Abraham in fact gave Melchizedek any money at all?

Pastor Enoch: That is right.

Jesus: I only have one last question for you, Enoch. Did God command Abraham to give this plunder as tithe to Melchizedek?

Pastor Enoch: No; it appears that he did this voluntarily.

Jesus: So are you trying to tell me that because of this voluntary, one time gift by Abraham, that may not have even consisted of money, all Christians everywhere are obligated to bring 10% of their weekly paycheck to a local church?

Jesus: Considering all the evidence, I would say you are beyond any shadow of a doubt guilty of deliberately trying to make the scriptures says things they have not said for financial gain.

Pastor Enoch: Sir, I can see how foolish I was to try and use the story of Melchizedeck to try and get the people to tithe money. But there are many other verses that will support my belief on tithing. Jacob said he would give God 10% of everything. I think we should follow his example.

Jesus: Let’s see what Jacob said. Please read the verse you are talking about for me, Enoch.

Pastor Enoch: In Genesis chapter 28, starting at verse 20 it says, ‘Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and Yahweh will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you.”‘

Jesus: You said people should follow Jacobs’s example, is that right, Enoch?

Pastor Enoch: Yes; that is right. He vowed to give a tenth and we should too.

Jesus: Let me point out one thing for you, Enoch. Jacob said he would Give God a tenth, ONLY if He blessed him first. So as you said previously, we should follow Jacob’s example and tell God that we will only give him a tenth if he blesses us first. Is that right?

Pastor Enoch: That is not what I meant.

Jesus: What did you mean then?

Pastor Enoch: That we should give God a tenth also.

Jesus: There you go again, trying to make the scripture say what you want it to say for your benefit. I would also like you to tell me the scriptures that say that Jacob kept his vow with God. I would also like to know where he gave the tenth to because there was no temple or levites to give it to at that time.

Pastor Enoch: I can not think of any scriptures that say where or if he ever tithed after his vow.

Jesus: It is obvious that Jacob made a voluntary and conditional vow to God. This in no way can be used as a reason to demand others to bring their income to you or any other place.

Pastor Enoch: I do have a few more scriptures that I believe will show that we are supposed to tithe.

Jesus: So far, all you have done is taken scripture and misapplied it to your beliefs and for your gain. But in order to be fair to you I will allow you to present more evidence.

Pastor Enoch: In the book of Malachi chapter 3 starting at verse 8 it says, “Will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now with this, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” So you see sir, we are commanded to bring the tithes into the storehouse or God will curse us.

Jesus: Answer me this, Enoch, were you aware that I never required anyone to tithe money?

Pastor Enoch: No I didn’t know that.

Jesus: The tithe spoken of here was always edible products never money.

Pastor Enoch: Sir, that is because they didn’t have money at the time so God had them tithe food instead.

Jesus: Not true, money is first mentioned in Genesis - and Malachi was written hundreds of years later. God had them bring food in so that the levites, the fatherless and widows may eat and be satisfied. The tithe was used mainly to take care of people. Also notice it says in the verse you quoted, that there may be food in my house. How do you completely overlook the word food in those verses?

Pastor Enoch: I don’t know

Jesus: I also want you to know that these verses speak to people under the Old Testament law. As you may or may not know, I fulfilled the law while I was on earth. The Law is no longer binding. Tithing was part of that law that has been abolished.

Jesus: And once again, you have tried to completely take a scripture out of context and apply it to others for your benefit. Can you give me a single scripture where God changed the tithe from food to money?

Pastor Enoch: I do not know of any.

Jesus: So if God never changed it from food to money who did?

Pastor Enoch: Man must have.

Jesus: So far all you have done, Enoch, is take Old Testament scriptures out of context and try to apply it to believers under the New Covenant. Is this all the proof you have?

Pastor Enoch: I do have a New Testament scripture that will show that You told us to tithe.

Jesus: Ok let me hear it.

Pastor Enoch: You said in Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.” Surely, You were saying there that we should be tithing.

Jesus: Let me ask you a question, who was I talking to?

Pastor Enoch: The scripture says the scribes and Pharisees.

Jesus: Are you and your members scribes or Pharisees?

Pastor Enoch: No sir; God forbid!.

Jesus: I also said in that passage, “You have left undone the weightier matters of the law“. Are we under the law, Enoch?

Pastor Enoch: No.

Jesus: Why not?

Pastor Enoch: Because You fulfilled it, and it passed away.

Jesus: When did I fulfill the law?

Pastor Enoch: When You were crucified.

Jesus: So the law was still in effect until My death?

Pastor Enoch: That is correct sir.

Jesus: I think you know where I am going with this; don’t you?

Pastor Enoch: Yes; sir. Since You had not yet been crucified and the law was still binding, the Pharisees were required to tithe because it was part of the law. Once the law ended, tithing ended also.

Jesus: I want you to take a look at that verse again. Also tell me, what were they tithing?

Pastor Enoch: The scripture says it was mint, dill and cumin.

Jesus: Was money mentioned there?

Pastor Enoch: No sir; it was not.

Jesus: Once again it was edible products that they were tithing, not money. Do you have anything else you would like to say?

Pastor Enoch: If people only tithed edible products like the scripture says, then how would the church survive? We had to build that million-seater cathedral to accomodate the people who come for Holy Ghost Festival yearly, the salaries of other pastors have to be paid. So many other things. We depend on the money from the people.

Jesus: The need does not justify the means. In other words, just because you have all these debts does not give you the right to twist and manipulate scripture and cause people to give under fear of being cursed by God to meet your needs. Not to mention that all those items you listed are problems you created for yourelves. They are not My agenda.

Jesus: Now to the more greivous consequences of your enforcing the tithe on believer. What did Paul write in Galatians 5:4 about attempting to follow the Law?

Pastor Enoch: That if they obeyed any part of the old Jewish law, including the law of circumcision, in order to be right (justified) with God, they have fallen from grace, or lost their salvation.

Jesus: Do you admit that like circumcision, tithing was part of the law?

Pastor Enoch: Yes, sir.

Jesus: Now if obeying the law of circumcision would cause gentile Christians of Paul’s day to “fall from grace”, one would have to conclude that obeying another old law; “The law of tithing” would have the same results on them today; that is to say, it will cause them to fall away from the grace of God.

Pastor Enoch: [Swallows hard] I suppose so.

Jesus: In other words, you are admitting that your teaching the tithe is actually sending people down the road to hell?

Pastor Enoch: That was not what I intended, sir.

Jesus: Nevertheless, that is the result of your actions - your ministry. How many of those one billion members (not counting the non-members who heard you and believed you) do you suppose have been turned aside unknowingly this way?

Pastor Enoch: [Swallows hard] I have no idea, sir.

Pastor Enoch: I never realized all these things, I have always been taught that we had to tithe money to the local church and that is what I have always taught. Yes I am guilty. I will not teach this error anymore. Infact, I will go and take my words back. As many people as possible must hear this.

THE END

I have given the narration a good ending. I hope that someone close to Pastor Adeboye loves him enough and has enough balls to bring this issue to his attention. You will be saving not only his soul but the souls of millions of others who believe his grace-defying, grace-denying doctrine of tithing.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Credits:
This narration was crafted and adapted from my previous article, Believers are not subject to the Tithe, and from materials put up at http://tithing.christian-things.com/articles.html

Source: http://yomisays./2008/06/25/the-trial-of-pastor-enoch/
=========================================

STOP! Search!! Meditate!!!

Hebrews 7: 1-12, 1 Timothy 5:8, Jeremiah 9: 23-24

Source: The Holy Bible- http://www.christnotes.org/bible.php, +4%3A1&ver=kjv

$$Rhino

it is being said in western world by day, especially when yo are not paying your tithe.

It seems you have not realised the scam being practised by those MoGs requesting Christians to pay tithes. Maybe you need to read this:

As a sequel to my previous posts about the the mis-information being preached in our churches about tithesI hereby present a court scenario in which the good pastor stands before the Great Judge of all the earth, the Lord Jesus Christ, on this subject. I came across this post when i checked on a link supplied by one of the contributors to a previous thread. Enjoy the conversation:

Jesus: Enoch, you have been charged with multiple counts of extortion. Your crime spree covers 20 years and thousands of victims. You have defrauded people out of their money with fear and manipulation, telling them they had to tithe 10% of their income to your church and that God would bless them if they did. You also told them that if they didn’t tithe they would go to hell. How do you plead?

Pastor Enoch: I plead not guilty, sir. I have done nothing wrong. I have only preached what the Bible says. In the Bible Abraham tithed to Melchizedek and God blessed him for his faithful giving. The Bible even says he was rich in silver and gold.

Jesus: Is it not true, Enoch, that in Genesis chapter 13 verse 2 the Bible says Abraham was rich with livestock, silver and gold?

Pastor Enoch: Yes, you are exactly right, that’s what I just told you.

Jesus: Ok, we read about Abraham being a rich man in chapter 13. But it is not until Genesis chapter 14 that we read about Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek. So Abraham was already a rich man before he tithed to Melchizedek, wasn’t he?

Pastor Enoch: Yes, I suppose you are right.

Jesus: So his riches were not the result of his tithe to Melchizedek?

Pastor Enoch: No.

Jesus: Enoch, you also say God blessed him for his faithful giving. How many times is it recorded that Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek?

Pastor Enoch: Well, just once.

Jesus: So the Bible never said that he gave week after week?

Pastor Enoch: No it does not.

Jesus: Where did Abraham get the things that he gave to Melchizedek?

Pastor Enoch: Well, the Bible says it was from the plunders of war?

Jesus: So you are telling me that he gave from the plunders of war?

Pastor Enoch: Yes that’s what the Bible says.

Jesus: So he basically took things that were not really his in the first place and gave them as the tithe?

Pastor Enoch: That is what the scripture seems to indicate.

Jesus: Is it recorded that he ever took anything from his own possessions and tithed them to Melchizedek or anyone else?

Pastor Enoch: I guess not

Jesus: You guess not! You pastor one of the largest denominations and you are only guessing? Is it or is it not written that he ever gave any of his own possessions as a tithe to anyone?

Pastor Enoch: No; it is not written anywhere that I have seen.

Jesus: Is it recorded as to what exactly Abraham did give Melchizedek?

Pastor Enoch: I believe it says plunder?

Jesus: So plunder could be any number of things?

Pastor Enoch: Yes, I suppose

Judge: It could have been food, cattle, sheep, the people’s possessions or any number of things. It does not say it was all money correct?

Pastor Enoch: Yes; sir. You are correct; it does not say just money.

Jesus: As a matter of fact, money is never mentioned in that account at all; is that correct, Enoch?

Pastor Enoch: Yes, sir; money is never mentioned; just goods and food and people.

Jesus: So there is no way you can say with any certainty that Abraham in fact gave Melchizedek any money at all?

Pastor Enoch: That is right.

Jesus: I only have one last question for you, Enoch. Did God command Abraham to give this plunder as tithe to Melchizedek?

Pastor Enoch: No; it appears that he did this voluntarily.

Jesus: So are you trying to tell me that because of this voluntary, one time gift by Abraham, that may not have even consisted of money, all Christians everywhere are obligated to bring 10% of their weekly paycheck to a local church?

Jesus: Considering all the evidence, I would say you are beyond any shadow of a doubt guilty of deliberately trying to make the scriptures says things they have not said for financial gain.

Pastor Enoch: Sir, I can see how foolish I was to try and use the story of Melchizedeck to try and get the people to tithe money. But there are many other verses that will support my belief on tithing. Jacob said he would give God 10% of everything. I think we should follow his example.

Jesus: Let’s see what Jacob said. Please read the verse you are talking about for me, Enoch.

Pastor Enoch: In Genesis chapter 28, starting at verse 20 it says, ‘Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and Yahweh will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you.”‘

Jesus: You said people should follow Jacobs’s example, is that right, Enoch?

Pastor Enoch: Yes; that is right. He vowed to give a tenth and we should too.

Jesus: Let me point out one thing for you, Enoch. Jacob said he would Give God a tenth, ONLY if He blessed him first. So as you said previously, we should follow Jacob’s example and tell God that we will only give him a tenth if he blesses us first. Is that right?

Pastor Enoch: That is not what I meant.

Jesus: What did you mean then?

Pastor Enoch: That we should give God a tenth also.

Jesus: There you go again, trying to make the scripture say what you want it to say for your benefit. I would also like you to tell me the scriptures that say that Jacob kept his vow with God. I would also like to know where he gave the tenth to because there was no temple or levites to give it to at that time.

Pastor Enoch: I can not think of any scriptures that say where or if he ever tithed after his vow.

Jesus: It is obvious that Jacob made a voluntary and conditional vow to God. This in no way can be used as a reason to demand others to bring their income to you or any other place.

Pastor Enoch: I do have a few more scriptures that I believe will show that we are supposed to tithe.

Jesus: So far, all you have done is taken scripture and misapplied it to your beliefs and for your gain. But in order to be fair to you I will allow you to present more evidence.

Pastor Enoch: In the book of Malachi chapter 3 starting at verse 8 it says, “Will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now with this, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” So you see sir, we are commanded to bring the tithes into the storehouse or God will curse us.

Jesus: Answer me this, Enoch, were you aware that I never required anyone to tithe money?

Pastor Enoch: No I didn’t know that.

Jesus: The tithe spoken of here was always edible products never money.

Pastor Enoch: Sir, that is because they didn’t have money at the time so God had them tithe food instead.

Jesus: Not true, money is first mentioned in Genesis - and Malachi was written hundreds of years later. God had them bring food in so that the levites, the fatherless and widows may eat and be satisfied. The tithe was used mainly to take care of people. Also notice it says in the verse you quoted, that there may be food in my house. How do you completely overlook the word food in those verses?

Pastor Enoch: I don’t know

Jesus: I also want you to know that these verses speak to people under the Old Testament law. As you may or may not know, I fulfilled the law while I was on earth. The Law is no longer binding. Tithing was part of that law that has been abolished.

Jesus: And once again, you have tried to completely take a scripture out of context and apply it to others for your benefit. Can you give me a single scripture where God changed the tithe from food to money?

Pastor Enoch: I do not know of any.

Jesus: So if God never changed it from food to money who did?

Pastor Enoch: Man must have.

Jesus: So far all you have done, Enoch, is take Old Testament scriptures out of context and try to apply it to believers under the New Covenant. Is this all the proof you have?

Pastor Enoch: I do have a New Testament scripture that will show that You told us to tithe.

Jesus: Ok let me hear it.

Pastor Enoch: You said in Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.” Surely, You were saying there that we should be tithing.

Jesus: Let me ask you a question, who was I talking to?

Pastor Enoch: The scripture says the scribes and Pharisees.

Jesus: Are you and your members scribes or Pharisees?

Pastor Enoch: No sir; God forbid!.

Jesus: I also said in that passage, “You have left undone the weightier matters of the law“. Are we under the law, Enoch?

Pastor Enoch: No.

Jesus: Why not?

Pastor Enoch: Because You fulfilled it, and it passed away.

Jesus: When did I fulfill the law?

Pastor Enoch: When You were crucified.

Jesus: So the law was still in effect until My death?

Pastor Enoch: That is correct sir.

Jesus: I think you know where I am going with this; don’t you?

Pastor Enoch: Yes; sir. Since You had not yet been crucified and the law was still binding, the Pharisees were required to tithe because it was part of the law. Once the law ended, tithing ended also.

Jesus: I want you to take a look at that verse again. Also tell me, what were they tithing?

Pastor Enoch: The scripture says it was mint, dill and cumin.

Jesus: Was money mentioned there?

Pastor Enoch: No sir; it was not.

Jesus: Once again it was edible products that they were tithing, not money. Do you have anything else you would like to say?

Pastor Enoch: If people only tithed edible products like the scripture says, then how would the church survive? We had to build that million-seater cathedral to accomodate the people who come for Holy Ghost Festival yearly, the salaries of other pastors have to be paid. So many other things. We depend on the money from the people.

Jesus: The need does not justify the means. In other words, just because you have all these debts does not give you the right to twist and manipulate scripture and cause people to give under fear of being cursed by God to meet your needs. Not to mention that all those items you listed are problems you created for yourelves. They are not My agenda.

Jesus: Now to the more greivous consequences of your enforcing the tithe on believer. What did Paul write in Galatians 5:4 about attempting to follow the Law?

Pastor Enoch: That if they obeyed any part of the old Jewish law, including the law of circumcision, in order to be right (justified) with God, they have fallen from grace, or lost their salvation.

Jesus: Do you admit that like circumcision, tithing was part of the law?

Pastor Enoch: Yes, sir.

Jesus: Now if obeying the law of circumcision would cause gentile Christians of Paul’s day to “fall from grace”, one would have to conclude that obeying another old law; “The law of tithing” would have the same results on them today; that is to say, it will cause them to fall away from the grace of God.

Pastor Enoch: [Swallows hard] I suppose so.

Jesus: In other words, you are admitting that your teaching the tithe is actually sending people down the road to hell?

Pastor Enoch: That was not what I intended, sir.

Jesus: Nevertheless, that is the result of your actions - your ministry. How many of those one billion members (not counting the non-members who heard you and believed you) do you suppose have been turned aside unknowingly this way?

Pastor Enoch: [Swallows hard] I have no idea, sir.

Pastor Enoch: I never realized all these things, I have always been taught that we had to tithe money to the local church and that is what I have always taught. Yes I am guilty. I will not teach this error anymore. Infact, I will go and take my words back. As many people as possible must hear this.

THE END

I have given the narration a good ending. I hope that someone close to Pastor Adeboye loves him enough and has enough balls to bring this issue to his attention. You will be saving not only his soul but the souls of millions of others who believe his grace-defying, grace-denying doctrine of tithing.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Credits:
This narration was crafted and adapted from my previous article, Believers are not subject to the Tithe, and from materials put up at http://tithing.christian-things.com/articles.html

Source: http://yomisays./2008/06/25/the-trial-of-pastor-enoch/
----------------------------------------------

STOP! Search!! Meditate!!!

Hebrews 7: 1-12, 1 Timothy 5:8, Jeremiah 9: 23-24

Source: The Holy Bible- http://www.christnotes.org/bible.php, +4%3A1&ver=kjv

dgratrock:
if d pastor decides to do that to those whose did not fear God and came to his house to defile it, ok it is then [color=#990000][/color]

Are you referring to Oyedepo's house & investments in his name (plus his family) or God's house.
You may want to clarify please. Thanks.

icezik

'Nuff Said! I heard they are probing Jimoh Ibrahim, one of Bishop Oyedapo's good friends

Have you heard:
Show me your friends and I will tell who you are.
-If a man's friends are fraudsters, scammers, forgers and those whose corrupt acts impoverish the citizens then you can determine exactly what he also is.
To those who might say Jesus also had taxpayers has friends, they should read the gospels very well and see what their utterances/behaviour change were after the visitation of Christ.
I leave you to compare and contrast.

Can Oyedepo also curse himself
Think about it.
If he continues to honour those who steal from their government and private sector positions and collect donations/tithes/vows/seed offerings etc that he should have "vision/word of knowledge" that it is beyond the givers' legitimate income then he-Oyedepo is also a thief.
As the Yoruba's say, eni gbe epo laja o jale to bi eni gba lowo e - He who stole is less guilty compared to the receiver (instigator) of the stealing.

Ascony:
@ anomini
But on the other hand, are u Akeredolu ?

No I am not, I am still a Christian as expressed in my comment #5 here and other postings on this forum.
However, you may agree with me that it is becoming increasingly difficult, at least in Nigeria, to identify Christian leaders (=pastors) in the mould of Christ and the Apostles and that is going to cause some people to toss away the baby (Xtianity) and the dirty bath water (scammers parading as church leaders)

Viante:
You go ration your sef die

Abeg madam viante, u don see person wey live forever before, even Methusela finally had to leave this world as we know it.

Viante:
You go ration your sef die

madam no be ration oh! abi na so you like food reach, softly, softly dey chop make belle no go burst
The subject na about how to rationalise, that is to say think/reason things out.
_{before running to God or those who claim to (mis)represent Him my addition to the writer's take.}

Why I am a rationalist
By Jide Akeredolu

A RATIONALIST is someone whose worldview is guided by reason. He refuses to swallow any idea or dogma that does not make sense. He critically examines any idea presented to him and takes what can stand scrutiny and discards the rest. Or he just suspends judgment until more information is available to make a judgment. There are seven major reasons why I am grateful I am a rationalist rather than a religious believer. I guess there are many others and readers may add to the list.

I don't have any unnecessary fears in my worldview. I am not afraid of demons, witches, spirits - both evil and holy, principalities and powers, Satan, or imaginary places like hell, etc because I don't believe any of these things exist. There are enough real things to be afraid of in this world without conjuring up all these imaginary things as well. Those who have a religious view of this world are not so lucky. I have a relation who had a bird stray into his compound. He identified it to be a raven, and because it was mentioned in the Bible, the whole family was terrified. There were prayers and fasting for days to ward off the "imminent dangers". A rationalist is free of such fears. They are all superstitious nonsense.

The second is that I don't have unnecessary feelings of guilt. The phenomenon of 'sin' is a religious idea which I don't subscribe to, and I don't wake up every morning feeling guilty of being a sinner, confessing and begging for forgiveness of sins -"both known and unknown". I keep the laws of my society, and I try to keep the golden rule - treat others the way you will like to be treated - a rule that predates all the major religions. I don't worry whether I have disobeyed any of the arbitrary religious laws, whether I am reading any holy book regularly or praying certain number of times, or going to church regularly, or worshiping an idol lately. I can do anything I want freely within the law without feeling guilty because I have a more rational idea of morality - respecting the right of others, acting with integrity, and trying to leave the world a better place than I found it. Religion, instead of shaping morality, actually confuses it by bringing in all these baggage which have nothing at all to do with real morality.

The third reason is that I live for this world, and I try to live it to the full. While it can be comforting to believe in a sort of afterlife, the reality is that when you spend all your time in this world preparing for the next world for which there is no shred of evidence, you really lose out in enjoying what this life has to give.

That leads me to the fourth reason. I love real people. I don't give imaginary gods and friends priority over the relationship I have with real people. Religious people risk letting their relationship with their imaginary friends and beings get in the way of their relationship with real people, friends and family members especially if that person doesn't share their beliefs, or happens to be gay or polygamist for example,  I am able to relate with anybody no matter his or her religious or sexual leanings.

I am proactive, and I like to take my destiny in my own hands. I set goals and I go for them. I don't believe in praying for the things I want in life, nor do I think praying for other people does anything to help them. If I want to help people, I do it directly, and take responsibility or credit for it myself. I don't feel that because I have prayed for somebody, I have done something for them. This does not mean I don't wish people well. I try to help practically. Like Chinua Achebe said, "while prayer may give food for the soul, it gives nothing for the stomach".

My sixth reason is privacy. Christopher Hicthens put it like this - "If religion were true, it would be like living in George Orwell's world - where even the smallest details of your every action and every thought are monitored, and where you can be prosecuted for even "thought crimes". Very scary indeed! I feel lucky that nobody is watching me 24/7, and so I have a sense of real privacy.

Finally, this is a rather selfish reason why I am happy to be a rationalist. I get to save 10 per cent of my income, I am able to put in a full day's work on Fridays and I also get a few extra hours of sleep on Sundays!


Akeredolu is a member of the Centre for Inquiry, Nigeria.

http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/editorial_opinion/article03//indexn2_html?pdate=010808&ptitle=Why%20I%20am%20a%20rationalist

Adeboye is one of the main reasons why Nigeria is not yet great and will not realise its potential if himself and others like him continue the mafia godfather[/b]ism style of giving "spiritual"(?) and "moral"(?) [b]protection to the Looters-in-Power (LIPs) he associates with rather than admonish them publicly through sermons and privately when they come to "consult" him as Paul did to Peter on the issue of circumcised vs uncircumcised brethren.
These LIPs whose activity or rather inactivity is the cause of unemployment that creates mass poverty and leaves infrastructures in a dilapidated state, including health facilities that cannot perform rigorous diagnosis thus leaving room for greater attribution of sometimes inevitable diseases and deaths to witches and wizards and wild claims of unverifiable miracles.
Talk about a symbiotic relationship, rub-my-back-I-rub-yours: you politicians can make the people very poor and I will continue to give them false hope of Nigeria will be great, moving to the next level, miracles galore etc etc to keep them hypnotised and focused away from your thieving ways as I dey thief them dey go also with my unbiblical tithe guilt trap