₦airaland Forum

johnnyvid:
lol if you say that. what i just know is that, givers never lack.

Really? My experience tells me receivers are the ones who never lack. Dem never lack sotay na dem de fly private jet while givers de beg to chop!

Trex4:
Atheists Wont See This One Now

I see it. I hope you've seen the post by Kaen1317. I don't know if s/he is an atheist, but the words express my sentiment.

kaen1317:
As a result of daddyfreeze putting them on blast. What have they been doing all these years apart from financing the luxurious lifestyle of the GO?

If they really want to pique my interest and respect though, they should invest in job creating ventures instead of giving out handouts.

MuttleyLaff:
I am beginning to wonder if you really want to receive it, as if/when you're ready, you surely know where I am, what to do and how to holler at me

So, I have to put in some special request for information you've claimed you'd provide? Next, muttley, you be asking me to pay for it too!

I'm afraid that until you decide to disabuse me of my ignorance, I'll just stick to my position, which, at least, we do seem to share.

superhumanist:
Guy, you be local champion. Son of the soil.

I am, you know! At great expense too but it's worth it, as it is a battle against ignorance which is what their religion encourages. And you should see the impact it has, and the opposition it garners.

I recently spent two years in the kingdom promoting and teaching people to read. It's where I picked up the bug that paralysed me. The rumour was that I had been deported, or else, "why would he come to live in this hell with us". And, "Books? Who needs books? Just give us the money jo!" Some claim the bug was put on me to make me desist from what I do. Some are even afraid that I might go into politics and run for local government chairman knowing not many could compete with my reputation and record. And I also have quite a few people coming to tell me how the books in the library changed their lifes. Many haven't got the space in their homes to sit down to read, so the library is a place for them to go and study in peace. And the nightwatchmen come outside my house on the night I arrive shooting their guns in salute.

I so miss home, and the palmy!

Butterflyleo:
Jokes on you fella.

Should allegedly logical and intelligent atheist "attack" what does not exist?

Shows how far the standard of of logic and intelligence have fallen lately

budaatum:
I too find atheists annoying! Instead of getting on with more valuable use of their time, they allow ignorant pricks to occupy their time with senseless arguments they've had many times over!

I mean, when last did we have a thread like this with intelligent conversation without some religious nuthead derailing it.

Atheists need to evolve to resist the temptation of Satan by ignoring the pricks and let their "sense" do the talking, I pray!

You've used up the quota of my time allocated to you today.

Butterflyleo:
An atheist aka God does not exist crooner should be able to keep quiet about this same God or gods he already said does not exist.

Such an atheist by now should be reconfigured to a blank slate when it comes to God or gods because to him they do not exist.

You say this a lot, and I presume it makes sense to you. Hopefully my responses above about the need for atheists to discuss gods is clear enough.

Butterflyleo:
So you can ATTACK NON EXISTENT GODS right?

What's the definition of delusional again?

I guess those non existent gods must be the real pricks to you since you say you can ATTACK them despite their non existence.

You must live a "prickly" deluded life.

Enjoy it is all I have to say

You really are funny. Can a puny atheist really attack an Almighty God?

The idea of gods pervade everywhere, unfortunately, whether the gods themselves exist or not. And indeed, not only do I enjoy attacking that idea, I must, out of necessity, attack that idea to reduce the number of folks deluded by it.

Butterflyleo:
Let's see how long he, you and the rest of your gang can keep mute about religion or God and how long you can stay away from religious threads.

I wager 2 hours would be an impossibility

An atheist keeping "mute about religion or gods".
You funny lol!

No one is saying an atheist should be mute about religion or gods, butter. People can say whatever they want. We just don't need to say it in prickinese.

We can attack gods and ignore pricks at the same time butter. It's not as if any god ever got pissed off at us for doing so. We just need to understand pricks are not god and that pricks are irrelevant to our attack of gods. But we would have to not be pricks ourselves.

And I'm not forcing anything. Every prick deserves whatever they get from other pricks.

Butterflyleo:
That would be a death sentence on atheists and atheism wouldn't it?

Can you lot survive without attacking religion or God?

Nah! Your fantasy wishes ain't real so don't force it.

superhumanist:
I wish I could help but I'm not an IT guy.

As for my assumption, it is true for a lot of them. Many complain about the religion section (because of the atheists here) in other sections. I have met some christian nairalanders (although not many) who have stated that they find atheists in the religion section annoying. Although, one did confess that the atheists were making more sense than the christians they were debating! lol

I too find atheists annoying! Instead of getting on with more valuable use of their time, they allow ignorant pricks to occupy their time with senseless arguments they've had many times over!

I mean, when last did we have a thread like this with intelligent conversation without some religious nuthead derailing it.

Atheists need to evolve to resist the temptation of Satan by ignoring the pricks and let their "sense" do the talking, I pray!

darkchild64:
In Nigerian universities some lecturers demand a student to pray before lectures,now as am atheist(who can pray) if a lecturer asks u to pray,would u tell the person u are an atheist before the class,or would u just mumble the words out like u are singing the national anthem without much concentration on the meaning,many atheists gave found themselves in this situation

I have a similar experience with my siblings. One of them is a preacher married to a preacher. When we have family gatherings, they pray, and I don't feel the need to leave the vicinity even though they know I'm an atheist.

Must say though that when the preachers first got married, he would put some specific mention of me and my atheism in his prayer, so I would leave their vicinity as soon as he did. I told him off once, and neither of them do so anymore.

johnydon22:
I don't see how praying nullfies the fact that I am an atheist or the life-damning importance of not letting others know I'm an atheist.

I've found myself in such situations, to be totally honest I don't have a problem. I see prayer as a wish and I don't stop people from wishing me good even though I know wishes are just as true as shadows in place of substance.

To avoid the unnecessary hostility of arguing with the said lecturer given the circumstance, place at hand, I'd more than churchiously lead them in a beautiful prayer up

I did that, "churchiously lead them in a beautiful prayer" .

Two years ago I caught a bug that damaged my spinal cord and left me in a wheelchair and admitted to hospital and ma brought members of her church prayer group to visit in the open ward I was in.

I lay there thinking, "when these people are done buda, you know they will rain down prayers on your head so you get healed!" I was like, "I'm not having that!"

So when they were about to leave, I quickly jumped in and said, "let us pray".

"We are grateful for what we have", I said. "May we continue to have in abundance. Amen". They too said "amen" and left.

Some of them concluded that I was arrogant, I later heard, and some even lost hope that I would ever walk again. You could imagine their faces when I was thanking them in Church one Sunday for their love and concern during my trying times.

tintingz:
Exactly, I can remember a day in a long queue when getting a form for a program, I'm discussing religion problem with people, the moment I said I'm not into any religion, see how all eyes were on me like I'm insane or some kind of an alien, so imagine going further telling them God doesn't exist?

You are telling random people in a queue that there are no gods? Are you tired of living and have not read it said that "one should not cast one's pearls amongst pricks" ?

It's good you held your tongue. Doing otherwise, in a queue of random people is like yelling "Fire!" In a crowded cinema. Even I might want to join the queue to lynch such a prick!

superhumanist:
I see the problem. Lagos.

I work around Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun (although it might change soon).

Lagos is very developed compared to these other states. You can't try to be bold with your atheism in somewhere like Osun or Oyo.

The Orolu Kingdom of Ifon Osun is in Osun State. I do not experience hostility from religious people there or anywhere else, even despite that I have the largest concentration of family members - whom one may feel have the need to save one - there than anywhere else in the world.

A favorite phrase of mine, and I quote from the bav, is, "buda's god is a selfish god. It has no time to be saving anyone else but buda". So I don't feel the need to be asking anyone to abandon their gods and convert to my ways. But that's not to say there are no idiots amongst them. I once had some prick come to save my so called "damned soul", and hours later that person was begging me to save them from starving!

Not many people are as rude to me as to think they should convert me, and if they did feel the need, they could at least try to do so without the prickiness. You would notice from my engagements on here that most who quote me would modify their prickiness or dare not quote me. It is, I think, because I respect myself and wish other's would too, or perhaps they fear I would befuddle them with my superior intellect and what some have called "wisdom", or maybe its just because perhaps I am not a prick to them.

My religious conversations are mostly with the Chief Imam, the Anglican Vicar or the heads in the various other religions, and the well educated, and my aim is to understand, and not to argue that my ways are better than their's. Perhaps the hostility you experience could be because of the level of people you engage with, or how you engage with them. On the whole, I find that I reap what I sow. Maybe you do too?

superhumanist:
I still wonder why you dont want to consider nairaland christians as a good sample for Nigerian christians. I cant see how it would be different in real life. At least, people are more honest online with anonymity. It is even better than real life.........

Ok, let's consider "nairaland christians" , sic.

You are aware that the majority of them read without commenting, right? And that only a very tiny fraction of those who comment are pricks?

superhumanist:
In short, most Nigerian Christians do not respond with curiousity when they face an atheist (especially for the first time). This means that I am saying that you are lying when you claim that your family and friends respond with curiousity to your atheism.

That's a rather bold statement Super. Doesn't it depend on the sort of Christians one meets, and the way one exhibits one's atheism?

Papa Roger, came to visit ma one day at the same time I was. He'd heard I ship books home and had some to give me. "Are you a believer?" He asked me, to wit I responded in the negative. "A Muslim?", he asked, and I said, "No, an atheist". Papa Roger gave me this awful look and refused to talk to me.

Weeks later, we met again, and Papa Roger said he was sorry for being so rude. He told me not to say I am an atheist no more because, and according to him, "You have more God in you than many I know". My response was, "You asked, and I don't lie".

Papa Roger, in his 90s, died a few years later and left me £200 in his will, "To continue the work of God that you do", was the message that accompanied it.

Mrs Evangelist Ayodeji another friend of ma's was standing at a busstop one day and a man stood beside her smoking and blowing smoke her way. While she was contemplating asking him to move his stink, another man approached him.

"Do you have a spare cigarette", he asked stinky smoker. Stinky brought his pack out and offered one. But the asker said, "Oh no, it's your last one, I can't take it". Stinky said, "O, take it", but asker refused again. "Take it", "I can't take your last one", went on a couple more times, and finally asker became taker and left.

Then Mrs Evangelist Ayodele's turned to stinky smoker and asked, "Are you a Christian?" "No", said stinky, I'm an atheist". Her bus arrived and stinky helped her on to it and remained at the busstop waiting for his.

When Mrs Evangelist Ayodele told me that story, knowing I am an atheist, she asked me if there was some code of unselfishness amongst atheists, and I informed her that what she'd witnessed was more of a code amongst smokers. She ended with, "I have never seen a more Christian attitude than that shown by atheist stinky and asker".

My point is, some Christians are not as bigoted as some. Though, having not done a poll, I can't claim whether it applies to most or not. From vast experience however, I would say quite a lot of Christians actually do react curiously as they ask how I cope without God.

MuttleyLaff:
Wisdom that's at variance with God's is foolish
meaning, any judgement or decision reached by reasoning, that doesnt agree with God's, lacks sound and good sense or judgement.

How silly. Sometimes, I just wonder if people think they are talking to children or if they tell this stuff to their kids!

Is it not common for people to adjust God's reasoning to suit their's? Or is it the case that God itself adjusts its own reasoning to suit their's?

One common example I found lately is ati owo ęni, a ti owo ęni ęlęni, Ọlọrun ma fi kankan won wa (whether na my money, or someone else's money, God no let me lack either). Is that not a twisted 'God given' justification to steal?

I can't but wonder people's gods are puppets, or at least, often treated as one!

I still have not received verses for where Jesus met or decided not to meet with a gay person muttley. I am beginning to wonder if you are failing to find God's reasoning that suits!

Martinez19:
I never meant one would reveal one's atheism to the lecturer instead I was referring to the event where one is out spoken and the lecturer gets to hear.

You mean like when one is being a prick, right? Trust me, not many go through their offline lifes being the pricks they are on here. If one is such a prick to one's lecturer's or boss' god, my advice is, changed schools or jobs immediately and moderate your prickiness in future!

Martinez19:
Is it right and safe to reveal the fact that you are an atheist especially if you are student on campus or looking for job?

Right and safe? Funny. Right and safe according to what, I wonder. A God, perhaps?

I have a rule, "Never tell lies, buda". If I feel the need to lie to anyone, it's either because I'm afraid of that person, or I wish to exploit that person. Unfortunately, or fortunately, if I lie to a person, I compound my fear by also fearing I'd be found out, so it's not worth the "double afraid". And I just happen to be content with what I have so I have no need to exploit anyone. By the way, if I did feel the need to exploit people, I'd become a preacher!

I sometimes go to a church I've been going to for 15 years now and I am very well known for being an atheist as I would tell anyone who asks. It is Church of England, with a majority Nigerian congregation, but people know not to come talk to me about converting from my atheism. Perhaps that's because I don't go about cursing their God so they don't come and curse me with my no-god.

I started going to understand Nigerians and their religious language as I missed it all growing up. From my writings, you'd know I can speak it somewhat, but if you ask, you'd know I am an atheist, and it's not unusual for those who know me well to tell those who don't, that I am. I got to say, they are all decent people and love me dearly. But I expect that if I go about hating and cursing their God, I would reap exactly the same hatred and cursing that I sow.

But, I live in a liberal society where discriminations of that sort are frowned upon. Besides, CoE preaches "Love", and you don't get to choose your neighbours in a multicultural society.

When I go home to the Orolu Kingdom, I go to church, I go to the mosque, I go to the Owala shrine to worship Owala (we kill a white goat, cook and eat), and I join in in worshipping Obatala and Ogun (though I don't partake of dog eating because the local dogs they kill eat poo!). They all know I don't believe in what we worship but they find it commendable that I would join in with them. I do tell them that I am Omo Oba Orun, so can't take sides, and they understand, especially when amongst the books I give to the library are Qurans and Bibles.

If I lived in a society full of bigots, I would behave as the steward who's boss told him to come and give account and so went to his debtors and asked them all to pay half of what they owed. If my school grades had depended on it, I strongly believe I'd have lied and gotten my grades. After all, I am an atheist, without a god to feel the need to die or sacrifice my future for. However, I doubt I'd enjoy the company I'd get to keep from my having lied so most likely wouldn't put myself in that sort of position to begin with. And you'd have to wonder why I would go to a school or work in a place where my religious beliefs matter, and not how well I do my job or perform in the exams!

My point is, my regard for myself and the arrogant fuq that I am mean I get to tell the truth and damn the consequences. But I manage that by not being a prick to those who worship gods. Idiots excepted, of course.

Omooba77:
We all believe in something; either wrong or right.

As far as gods, creation of the universe, afterlife and such like things are concerned, some of us do not believe in something. Some are able to say "I don't know", if they don't know, and know the things they do know.

With sincere apologies for going off topic.

musicwriter:
Can you let me know who washed away the sins of the world before a so called Jesus was born?

Yawn!

Good one op!

I believe that I like this thread.

Organism000:
You mean someone's blood will be used to 'wash away' your 'sin'. Why dont you use water to wash away sins, why kill someone just because of a sin ? Sounds like ritual to me.

Who cares what it sounds like to you?
I beg "believe" or carry go!

modaink333:
As mother church celebrate the feast of John the Baptist, judging from his life of simplicity and the way to Christ, how can our pastor's emulate him?

I don't think your pastors should emulate John the Baptist. Even Christ did not emulate John the Baptist! John’s disciples often fasted and prayed, and so did the disciples of the Pharisees, but Jesus' disciples ate and drank.

What the pastors should do is spend their money more intelligently. Funding hospitals would be a good start instead of peddling fake miracles.

If anything, it is the people who give the pastors money who need to emulate Christ and John the Baptist and go out and invite the poor and needy to their banquets instead of the already wealthy and belly fulled.

UserX18:
You say you don’t believe God, and you’re intermeddling with scriptures.
Yes I lack your knowledge, you work to acquire the knowledge that makes you know your God exists. — now you want to understand God’s wisdom with your own Wisdom which God has told you is foolish. Because you think you’re smart. What great folly.

I don't believe Alice in Wonderland, or Harry Potter or Plato's writings either X18, but that wouldn't stop me reading and learning from them. I take it that works of writing are inspiring, including yours. And it's not because you preach God that I include yours, but because you seem to discourse with intelligence.

I do not agree that your own wisdom is foolish. Please look upon the writings of some on here and give yourself credit! As to having wisdom, or being smart, you say so, not me.

What you've said below is what you see through your Christian eyes. It reminds me of a phrase, "is this not Joseph's son?" They asked because they were the teachers, and Joseph's son had not been to their school to be taught by them, so how could he possibly know to talk such "great wisdom"? I too have not been to church school to be taught, yet I see some of the words I strung together make "great wisdom" to some.

The point is that some of what is written in the Bible can be found in other books too. Paul was very well know for plagiarism for instance, and because he did and put it in the Bible does not reduce the merit of what is said, even to an atheist. Even so, it is still available in other books and without the veil of gods wrapped over it. Though we do not expect the majority to delve that deep. As Christ put it, "the lame walk, the blind see and to some is the gospel preached". Everyone has a level.

What James is saying is that faith and belief that is untested is worthless essentially, and his faith, at least has been tested by the works he has accomplished by it. And you think by 'faith', one might mean faith in God, but 'faith' is not limited to Gods. Jesus even said one should have faith in one's fellow human being! It is the lesson of turning the other cheek after all, and, "in as much as you have done unto those here that you see" , the idea being, you slap me twice, shame on you, and "know ye not that your fellow humans are gods?" And one does not have to believe it either because one can test it and know, as opposed to just having faith that it might be true and work.

You write for your own sake X18, but might not quite know that yet. The words are the beginning, and then follows the creation of things. I advise you to lift your head out of a loaf of bread and read more widely. It will immensely improve your understanding. Meanwhile, thanks for the intelligently had conversation. Not many on here make me resort to the style you've provoked in me.

UserX18:
You see, you do not believe in something, and you think you can understand it, you want to use your great Wisdom which is foolishness in the eyes of God to understand his word. It is folly.
You think reading through the bible a hundred times makes you understand all of it.

You do not even have the “faith” and you want to show it by your deeds. There are persons reading this, this is an internet forum, I’m writing for your sakes alone.
Proofing to you He exists, is revealing his glory, his beauty, to show the folly of men. That the wisdom of Men is folly. That is why we depend on the truth - That is not folly.

felixomor:
Once again.
Sorry.
For believing what you are not sure of.

Another reason we are different from atheists

I wouldn't go assuming all atheists reason as I do. It's not like we all went to atheist school and learnt to reason the same ways.

UserX18:
There’s something you’re not getting, I do not ask for you to believe me. His word is there. God has revealed himself to everyone, it is left for you to choose to believe it or reject it. You’re to believe his word not mine. His word stands true. Because you do not even believe nor understand the God, for this selfsame reason will you bring such examples. I didn’t tell a lie to you. God has revealed himself to me, I believed, that made me a believer, he revealed himself to you, and you reject it and even say he doesn’t exist, that makes you an Unbeliever.
His word is true, since there’s no lie in it, I have no reason to reject it.

And for fear of repeating myself, God has not revealed himself to me, and by your admission, neither has he to you, for all you have is what you read in a book that was written about God, and which you chose to believe.

If you bother to ask atheists, you would find that they tend to not live by bread alone but have read quite a lot of books that have been claimed to have been written by one god or another. It is why some would ask which god should be believed in.

Still, read my previous. I discuss not with you because I want you to abandon what you hold as true. My words about the regard I have for myself and the work I have put in to enable me to hold the stance that I hold is not just acquired by any Tom, Dick or Harry who has not done any work.

I so love how James put it. "Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds". My seeds are cast and those which will choke, wither and die will do so, while those that will yield a crop a hundred times will do so too.

UserX18:
That is true. If I knew where you got the ‘planets’ from and they are not planets, then Of course you’re wrong.
Now let us reason, I have the word of God, it stands true, there’s no lie in it. None can prove it false to me, if none can prove something false to you. Then it stands true until it fails, especially when none can prove it false, and i totally understand God’s character. And I see the word has never contradicted itself. If one is able to prove it false then I’ll know it is false. It’s all about reasoning and understanding.

If I know my God exists, I do not see how I would be attempting to reason with a person who lacks my knowledge X18, after all, I possibly did work to acquire the knowledge that makes me know my God exists, work I am likely to assume they have not bothered to do. Or do I think so little of myself by expecting everyone to have been as diligent as I was and acquire the knowledge I have? Should I lack consideration for the effort I put in to acquire such knowledge and assume any Tom, Dick or atheist could just stumble on it? Should I go about insulting myself by thinking the opinion of some atheist who lacks knowledge I have matters? What would be the intention of casting my very worthy diligently acquired pearls in front of atheist swines?

Personally, the only reasons I would be arguing about the existence of my God would be because I either don't value my God who has bothered to convince me with sufficient evidence that it exists, or I do not value myself and the effort that I might have put in to ensure I know my God exists, or because I am not quite sufficiently certain that my God exists, or my understanding of my God is limited.

If I am certain, and have understanding of my God, it would not matter to me much whether some atheist knows or believes my God exists. I might feel the need to place my lamp where everyone shall see it, but I would understand that some seeds fall along the path and get trampled on, and some fall on rocky ground and wither because they get no moisture, and some fall among thorns and get choked, while some fall on good soil and yielded a crop a hundred times more than was sown. So my attitude towards my dead seeds would be se la vie, and "Oh, but for the grace of my God go I". For it is possible that I too might have been like those unbelieving atheists, though such thoughts might be tempered by me not wishing to behave like the Pharisee who thinks he's better than a tax collector. And as I dust their dust off myself as I leave their presence, I would under my breath mutter, "My Lord my God, please forgive them for they know not what the heck they say". I would hardly be on Nairaland wasting my seeds by dropping them where they would get trampled, wither or choked by arguing that my God exists or not because I would be elsewhere doing the work that is most likely more pleasing to my Lord my God.

felixomor:
So what you know is different what you believe?

Eiya.
Anyway.
For us, we believe what we know
And we know what we believe.
Sad to know your case is different.

You are correct Felix, what I know is very different to what I believe, sad as that may appear to you. Please note that I understand that religious people use 'knowing' and 'believing' interchangeably, but that is not my way. Whenever you read me say "I believe a thing to be so or not so", I am saying that I am not quite certainly sure that it is so or not, and hence limit myself by claiming that I choose to believe, or not believe whether it is so or not. The things that I believe are believed because I have insufficient knowledge to know, and the things I know are known by me because I actually have sufficient evidence to know.

I would, for instance, not claim to believe it is raining if water were dropping on my head from the sky unless I happen to think, for some reason, that it is not rain water dropping on my head. It would be rather odd to claim, "I believe the water dropping on my head were rain", if I knew it was rainwater dropping on my head. I expressed this same sentiment when I said God made me dumb, but you called it pride. After my super super pride, I would not believe God made me dumb and might make me dead at 12 noon because I would know that God made me dumb twice and would most likely make me dead at 12 noon. If I merely 'believed', then I am not quite sure.

If I were a 'Christian', I would be the sort who would boldly assert that "I know my God exists" and I would be insulting my God by not claiming so. For by stating that "I believe my God exists", I would be claiming that I am not quite certain because I do not have sufficient evidence perhaps, and just choose to believe my God exists regardless. It is this rather weak sentiment some express when they claim to know by faith. That may well be the case when I am a Christian child, but when I grow up into a Christian adult I believe I should have abandoned my childish beliefs because I would have sufficient evidence to claim actual knowledge about the existence of my God, and to hell with anyone who claims my knowing is in error. In fact, I would be insulting my God and myself if I argued with some stupid atheist whom my God has not proven his existence to, as I would be admitting, knowingly or not, that my evidence is rather unconvincing even to myself.

The only limit to my knowing is my desire to go do research to acquire actual knowledge, as opposed to mere believing, which can hardly be a virtue as it would make me no different to a child who has no knowledge, or the devil who also believes.

MuttleyLaff:
It is true.

Do you think, I made up that:
"Jesus was even willing to visit someone in a same sex relationship but persuaded it wasnt necessary"

Just so it's said, your above in italics ("was willing but persuaded", is an example of your unclearlessness.

You know my vested interest is that what you claim is true, but I can't go about claiming " muttley said"! Besides, you've never been shy about posting book, chapter and verse in the past muttley, so do not disappoint now please.

1. Who was the person in a same sex relationship that Jesus was willing to visit?

2. Who persuaded him it wasn't necessary?

3. Where in the Bible (or anywhere) did you get this from?

UserX18:
If I tell you how God revealed himself to me, are you going to believe?

I often suspect that when believers are asking one to believe, they actually do not mean "believe in God" , but believe them! Why should anyone believe God revealed himself to you? Of what business is it of anyone whether God revealed himself to you or not? In fact, why are you here telling anyone that God revealed himself to you? Is it because you are more worthy of being revealed to?

If God revealed himself to me, he'd probably be doing so for a reason, and I suspect that reason would be way more than my merely proclaiming it on Nairaland. I'd expect something like "buda go and cure the world from poverty, or death" in fact. And if I were to ask for the power to do so, which I would, I expect to be given a rod and an Aaron to assist me. Anything less is probably me hallucinating or blatantly lying! And if I am asking people to believe in my lies, then my intention can only be so I can make them stupid and exploitable.