₦airaland Forum

OkCornel:
Going by your logic, the ancient empires came into existence because of Science rather than religious beliefs...nice...

so that means everyone is enlightened because of Science right?

Bros, try and understand what I am stating here...Science has its limitations because it is not an infinite body of knowledge...
Science no matter how rapidly evolving it is, does not have all the answers to life's questions hence, the limitation I'm talking about.

butterflyl1on:
Is science unlimited? Yes or no

butterflyl1on:
Let me eliminate one probable source for you real quick.
This is what science says below.



Science holds no answer for you in that regard. So what's left? Now you tell me, since science holds no answer what do you think begets homosexualism?

OkCornel:
But how does this make homosexuality or lesbianism normal for human beings? Or are you waiting for the same scientists to later tell you it is abnormal?

Did nature configure humans to result from homosexual and lesbian relationships? Should the rules of nature be abused on the altar of self-seeking pleasures?

There should be certain boundaries that should not be crossed...

butterflyl1on:
Cough! Cough! So homosexuality is as natural as heterosexuality yet different sex organs on both male and females to show its an abnormality in nature is not natural right?

I guess you wouldn't mind having a man romp around with you in your birthday clothes then right?

OkCornel:
1) You gotta draw lines in the name of common sense...and common sense tells me you are not a product of a homosexual or lesbian relationship

2) Please enlighten me...which God creates a man and a woman with sexual organs for reproduction and still goes ahead to love same sex union? That must be a confused god I must say...

3) So...does a mother who loves a motherless child go ahead to have sexual relations with the motherless child to prove her feelings for the child? Because I don't see how love for a motherless child can be used to support homosexuality here...


I hope I get a mature and intelligent response to this post as opposed to needless and unprovoked insults...

Cheers

OkCornel:
Very good then. You mentioned something on jailing homosexuals...but that's not the point of this thread anyways...

However, a line needs to be drawn on certain issues...if you quarantine someone to prevent further spread of a contagious disease, then that is not a dangerous thing to do is it? But how you go about the process itself is what makes it right or wrong...

One of the funniest things I've noted is observing how people who are products of sex between two genders now canvassing for same sex union...very funny I tell ya...

Anyways...lemme not derail from the main topic of this thread...

Ronpet777:
Beautiful! I really like u dalaman because u can be very honest. But how come a person who doesn't hv a slight idea about anything pertaining his existence hv d effrontery to question one with one? Ur position is very clear now. U know nothing. Just as brainempty as a three months old baby. For someone like u, u shld sit and learn. When u hv learnt enough to knw ur purpose in d face of d earth, let me knw.
I need people who can dare to believe and run after it with all inquisitiveness till d day a solution is found. We believe in God and we hv gone all out to seek him. We r making progress, u r not. U stand nowhere, as confused as a nincompoop.
dalaman, go and find an answer to ur meaningless existence.

Emmanystone:
Bros wish me Happy Birthday Biko.

Who will join me to the orphanage today? A huge crowd will be most fun. Come on, come all.

dalaman:
If you notice my post I am always specific about the types of God I talk about. I always specifically say that Yahweh does not exist in reality. I always also maintain that Yahweh did not create the universe. Same goes for Allah, Brahma etc. These Gods are all man made creations and do not exist in reality. They only exist in the minds of their believers. It's plausible that the universe has a creator or many creators, we just don't know and have no evidence to show for that. I am very satisfied with I don't know. Accepting obvious mythology and fiction because I don't know is just a no no for me.

uboma:
Why should a Church be involved in illegal development?


Serves them right.

N0T0RI0US:
Truly, we need a govt. full of atheists, or at least, freethinkers.

OLAADEGBU:

Darwinian evolution necessitates blind faith. Creationism passes the scientific method. It can be observed and tested.

Ericsunday619:
Atheists and theists in Nigeria do you think an atheist or agnostic president is the way forward for Nigeria? No insults between Christians and atheists allowed. Please

Oracle16:
Colossians 2:8 - 10
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces[a] of this world rather than on Christ.
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.

Oracle16:
“The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.” (Psalm 14:1, ESV)

jamescross:
2. the Church fathers you list as founders with source of your information how many of them were pupils of Greek philosophers and how it helped shaped their doctrines

I really need this info, thank you

hopefulLandlord:
I can't relate cuz I was the first atheist I knew , I became agnostic atheist as a teenager before I even learnt the label exists and it took me some time to realise there were people like me out there, never looked back since

this should be an interesting thread

Antiparticle:
I used to think of atheists as defiant people who for some unclear reason were blinded from seeing the truth.
I also thought they were stubborn, as they never bought my Bible-driven arguments and explanations that I used to think were air-tight and well thought-out.

Unbeknownst to me the first cracks in my faith started probably started around 12 years ago when I allowed myself to deeply question everything in the Bible, no holds barred; my thinking was that this would help my faith grow deeper and know God more. My faith mostly grew stronger for the next seven years, but apparently the faint fault lines in my faith were also growing.

The fault lines started to become more visible five years ago when I started asking questions about if miracles still happened today. And over time I started asking if God still intervened in the world today. And then I started asking if every line of the Bible was true. And then I started questioning the resurrection, and the virgin birth, and ...

I was at an airport one day, two and half years ago, and it suddenly hit me -- I had been fooled all along. Chai! The next six weeks were sad and depressing! I couldn't believe that I had believed in this falsity for so long. It took a good nine months before I could begin to really talk about it. I had to again process what it means to be human. I once again felt like an adolescent learning how the world works.

This was when I started to see the sense in all the arguments and defiant questions that my atheist friends used to ask.

dalaman:
Sure. If only they could see and experince what we are seeing and experiencing. But then muslims say that to christians and christians say that to muslims as well. Every religion says that to another. If only you see the light of our religion you'll leave yours and join ours.

I call it a bubble.

dalaman:
As a christian I never knew what it meant to be an atheist. How could someone say there was no God? How can anybody say that my sweet Jesus isn't real? Never personally sat down and thought about my religious beliefs and the concept of God at all. I was indoctrinated and I believed 1000000%. I grew up in a very conservative christian home, so everything I heard and was taught were true. Never questioned them, in fact I couldn't question them. I accepted everything and it became my reality.

The first time I met an atheist was like 10 years ago in Germany. It was surreal. I thought I met the "devil". The guy was so confident and kept dismissing God as a man made imaginary idea. I was so scared of him and the words and thoughts that were coming out of his mouth. I wished God will strike him with blindness. I hated him immediately but was more scared of him. I quickly ran away after listening to him for like 15 minutes.

We meet again after some days and he was at it again. Spewing his atheistic stuff. After a while I became friends with some of the Germans and realized that most of them were irreligious/ athiest. Non of them believed in God they way I did. Even those of them that believed in God had very different conception of who and what God is to them. We discuss religion sometimes and I got to realize that most of them were the same. It didnt bother me much since they were everywhere. I just prayed and hoped that God will touch them and show them his "light". I was a bit taken aback when I met black Germans that were athiest and irreligious then, some of my lectures were black Germans and were athiest. Some few friends in school as well. For some reason I felt I could give whites a pass for being athiest and irreligious but blacks? It didn't sit well with me that blacks were also athiest/irreligious because most of them were Africans like me whose parents or grand parents were from Ghana and Cameroun but were born there. I later had to accept them because they were everywhere. Only me and my few Nigerian and other African friends belived in God in the traditional way. I later met and became friends with some American soldiers that also believed in God the way I did(Traditionally). They were stationed in the city I was studying. They had a big military base there. Those Americans soldiers were the only whites that believed in God the way I did. Most of the Germans I knew personally were either athiest/irreligious or adherents of the Grill message. Very few were traditional christians like me. The church I attended then was an African church. After a while I settled in and had to accept things the way they were.

Then came nairaland. The first thing that made me start to think about the existence of God was the constant debates btw the christians and Muslims here. There was no Islamic section then and there were also very few athiest back then . I think there were only like 5 atheist if I could remember correctly(Seun, Kag, Nnfern, Mazaje, Jagunlabi). The debates were only btw christians and Muslims and also btw catholics and anti catholic protestants. The debates were always very hot and intense. I used to read for a while before I later registered .Those debates between the muslims and Christains made me to think about God's existence for the very first time in my life. I Never knew the bible had any flaws until the muslims pointed so many of them out. I refused to accept that they were flaws, I'll rather lie to my self than accept them. The muslims also did the same. When christians point out the flaws in the Koran, they also refused to accept, they'll twist, lie and offer the fringe of all explanations in order to explain it away. It was the same thing the christians were doing. The few athiest that were here kept pointing that out.

Then later the number of athiest picked up a bit and the arguments/debates started. Athiest started creating topics instead of just chipping in when muslims and christians were on each other's necks. The debates continued and I ended up changing my mind and doing away with my childhood indoctrination.

MrPresident1:
China about to throw down the gauntlet to the petrodollar

https://www.rt.com/business/418638-china-yuan-oil-futures/

The world’s top oil importer, China, is expected to launch its long-awaited and delayed yuan-denominated oil futures contract at the end of March, according to Reuters’ sources.

The petroyuan is seen as Beijing’s challenge to the US dollar, the dominant global currency in oil contract settlements.
The contract could reportedly be launched on March 26 on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE). The exchange has recently received the approval from China’s State Council.

In December, the INE announced a successful completion of the fifth dry run in yuan-backed oil futures contract trading. It said that 149 of its members traded 647,930 lots in the rehearsal with a total value of 268.2 billion yuan. The exchange said the system met the listing requirements of crude futures after the exercise.

The Chinese government announced plans last year to start a crude oil futures contract priced in yuan and convertible into gold. The contract will enable the country's trading partners to pay with gold or to convert yuan into gold without the necessity to keep money in Chinese assets or turn it into US dollars.

MrPresident1:
[s]China is Moab in the Bible, the Bible does not record that another nation will rise after Babylon, Babylon is the end time empire. The point is that Moab cannot assume world leadership.[/s]

A Gold-backed Yuan is the end of the America economy, because the US Dollar is not backed by anything, it is a ''Fiat Currency''. If a gold-backed currency is introduced, the Dollar will die. and its fall will reverberate around the world.

aboyaji:
You have a point. I like your write up.

LightSpirit:
ONCE UPON A TIME, two explorers came to a clearing in the jungle. It was a beautiful place -- thousands and thousands of flowers were blossoming. One of the explorers said, "There must be a gardener tending these flowers, looking after this plot." He was a believer.
The other disagreed and said, "I don't see any gardener here. I don't even see anybody's footprints. And there seems to be no point in making such a beautiful garden in such a dense and deep forest. Who will come to look? Who will enjoy these flowers? Nobody ever passes by. No, there is no gardener. The whole garden is just an accident."

They argued. The second was a nonbeliever, a skeptic. But there was no way to decide who was right, so they pitched their tent and waited for seven days. No gardener ever appeared. The skeptic was very happy. He said, "Look, there is no gardener. It has been proven now." But the believer said, "The gardener is invisible. He comes, but we cannot see him; he comes, but we cannot hear his footsteps. This garden is impossible without a gardener." So they set a barbed wire fence up around the garden. They electrified the wires, they brought bloodhounds, and they patrolled day and night. But nobody ever entered. No shriek was ever heard from the shock of the electricity flowing in the wires. The bloodhounds never gave a cry.

After seven days, the skeptic said. "Finished! Now it is proven beyond doubt that there is no gardener -- visible or invisible." But the believer was not convinced. He said, "The gardener is not only invisible, he is intangible. He has no scent. He is eternally elusive: you cannot catch him by electrified wires, you cannot catch him by bloodhounds, and our eyes cannot see him. But he is -- for certain he is." Now the skeptical friend, in great despair, said, "What happened to your original statement? What is the difference between an invisible, intangible, eternally elusive God, or gardener, and one which is just imaginary, or one which does not exist at all? What is the difference between the two?"

Believers go on talking about an invisible God, skeptical minds go on disproving any possibility of it, and they both seem to be right. Or, they both are wrong. The argument never comes to a conclusion. From the very beginning, the whole line of inquiry has taken the wrong route. Once you separate the gardener from the garden -- God from the creation -- the problem arises. Then it can never be settled. The garden is enough proof of the gardener. But the gardener is not separate. He does not come to tend the garden: He is in the garden; He IS the garden. He does not look after the flowers: He is IN the flowers; He IS the flowers. Not that HE is invisible -- He is visible, but visible as flowers. If you have an idea of God, you will never find Him. The very idea will become the barrier. Only those who have no idea of God come upon Him, or allow God to come upon themselves. If you have a certain idea, the very idea is going to be the wall, the brick wall, between you and the truth.

The believer was not wrong, but he took a wrong line of argument: he divided the gardener from the garden. The gardener cannot be proved because the gardener doesn't exist. A gardener separate from the garden is nonexistential. That's why the skeptical friend could argue. And his argument is valid -- valid not against God or the gardener; valid against the believer. The believer has taken the wrong argument.

To me, God is herenow. All that you see is God. God is not something beyond; God is something within. Or, if you like paradoxes, you can call God the within beyond or the beyond within. But God is intrinsic, God is the innermost core of existence. Unless you start in the right direction, you will go on missing. Never believe in a God who is separate from His creatures and the creation. He is not, He cannot be. He is one with it: He is in it, He is it. Once this is understood, you start flowing; your whole life becomes a prayer.

That is the basic message of Jesus. That's why he goes on saying that "God is my father." It is a way of saying what I am saying to you. Between the father and the son, or between the mother and the child, there is a continuity. The father goes on living in the son; the mother continues in the child. The son is nothing but an extension of the existence of the father -- an extended hand: as if the old body has become incapable of existing and is going to disappear, and the father has created a new body to live within. When Jesus says, "God is my father," he simply means that "I am continuous with Him; there has never been a separation. He is flowing in me: in my every cell He is flowing. Nowhere has there been a discontinuity." That is the whole meaning of it, but he uses the word 'father' because he is talking to very simple, unsophisticated people. He is talking to real people, not to plastic people; he is not talking in a university. He is talking to real people -- people who are alive. He uses the word 'father'. And it is beautiful in a way, because unless religion becomes personal, it remains a philosophy. When religion becomes personal, it becomes life. Religion is something to be lived, not something to brood about. It is something that should become a milieu around you; it is something that should become a continuous breathing, continuous beating of the heart. Religion is a way of life, a way of being. It has nothing to do with thinking. When Jesus says, "God is father," he means this existence is not alien, this existence is a home. You can rest in it, you can rely on it; you need not be afraid.

This is one of the most significant things to be understood, because modern man is so much afraid. Never before has that been so. Never before in the history of humankind has man been as afraid as he is now.

The world is a unity. Existence is a family; we exist together. Life is togetherness, and that togetherness is God. If you cannot feel that togetherness, you will feel alien and you will always be afraid. To a truly religious man(not the Christian, Muslim etc), fearlessness happens spontaneously. To a nonreligious man, fear is the only way to be. 'God, the father' can be translated. It means: existence is one; it is a togetherness. It is a harmony, not a conflict. We are members of each other. Whenever somebody dies, something in me also dies. Whenever a new child is born, something is born into me also. Whenever a new child is there, life becomes more alive through him -- life smiles. Whenever somebody dies, there are tears. It has to be so, because I come out of life; I go back into life. Life was trying to do something through me. Everybody is a messenger; everybody is a messiah; everybody has a destiny to fulfill. And until you fulfill that destiny, you will never feel fulfilled. You can have much money, but fulfillment will not come through it. You can have much sex; fulfillment will not come through it. You can have much power; fulfillment will not come through it.

Fulfillment comes only when you have fulfilled a certain destiny that you were carrying, that was coded within you, that was deep in your blueprint. Unless you have become that for which you were made -- unless you have attained to being -- you will never be fulfilled. Fulfillment is peace, fulfillment is bliss, fulfillment is contentment. And only a fulfilled heart can pray, because only a fulfilled heart can be grateful and can feel the grace descending: the spirit of God, like a dove.

Zonacom:
Not a big deal really. All Muslim neighborhoods may be found in Arabic coun
tries too.

budaatum:
I have reported you again for derailing this thread.

OkaiCorne:
No probs...

Please don't be offended if you feel I have insulted you in anyway...

OkaiCorne:
Same meaning...different perspectives...

Of course anyone should know science cannot do itself...

And that's the challenge with expressing one's self with words...

Only if we could all read each other's minds...

OkaiCorne:
You didn't have an answer to my chicken and egg question...and now you are saying it is not a relevant question...

Who started attacking who? Was it not your fellow atheist Hahn that mentioned I am delusional?

Now that I am asking questions...I am now attacking atheists abi?