₦airaland Forum

Even the story of the changing of water into wine makes clear that it was alcoholic. People accused the celebrant of having kept the better wine until guests were drunk, whereas the normal thing was to start with the superior one, and then introduce the cheap one after guests are drunk and can no longer tell the difference.

how much will you collect na

Sweetnecta:
nigerian universities are now producing all kinds of madness

Just FYI, my own madness started long before any university, Nigerian or foreign.

^^^ What is this thing that you have posted? Please I am the owner of this thread, I hold it in trust for humanity. So please don't come and pollute this fine thread with these kinds of posts.

Thank you.

[quote author=ms_queen link=topic=685493.msg8479000#msg8479000 date=1307536910]bear in mind that the monies paid in church by the various members have been taxed by the government earlier,
[/quote]Really? Including the ones received from politicians?

Simple solution. UK - Style Charity Commission as a regulator.

^^^^ Simple and short! Excellently said.

I have said this before and I will say it again. The only lie is the word or deed that prceeds with a false intention towards a wicked and false end. The intention is overwhelmingly critical.

I strongly urge all to read the comments on this matter here -


https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-582103.0.html

Nature does communicate with us every second of every day.

One pulsating consciousness.

The guy is just stabbing at straws. You always recognize amateur atheists from that clueless trait.

Martian. You gat no case. No need to digress. Logic presupposes a cause or source in regard to all finite things? And that is what has been asserted. So long as you accede a source, of whatever description, you have no case, and no reason for your skewed and impulsive comments. Science itself accedes a source. The entire gamut of scientific inquiry is about determining the causes and sources of things. It's your business if you are troubled about anything spiritual. No one is bothering you with that. There is a source. Finite things are caused,  and not uncaused. The laws of motion indisputably prove this. So quit the chit chat son.

@ phxc, it's sad if you consider a mere statement that one proceeds from a source to be condemnable. Are there things within the universe that pop out of nothingness? Please let's not be absurd.

Fact is, Martians comments are borne out of teenage excitement, and nothing more. No considered mind could condemn a simple assertion that one proceeds from a source, however defined. It's like saying a river pops out of thin air. That is worse than any claims made by religious bodies. And most unscientific, too.

Martian:
You act as if Avatar is introducing some new spiritual concept that hasn't been heard of.

Does anything have to be new to be inspiring? The greatest truths are actually timelessly old.

Martian:
Stop trying to justify your spiritual convictions with science ( the singularity before the big bang). Astronomy is what gave us the big bang theory but it sure doesn't make it sound like a "source" that cares about some humans on some tiny planet.
His assertion is not based on science but in his spiritual yearning to have an immortal part of himself. Hell, he calls himself "the awareness, the immortal me that never dies"; how is that science? Spirituality/ religion are the only human concepts that deal with souls as reality. Science doesn't, so that "source" has no spiritual connotation attached to it.

Besides, what's so special or so profound about his assertions. It sounds like he just ripped off the buddhist concept of souls and reincarnation. I'll even conjure up my own "source.

"THE ESSENCE"
The essence is that eternal entity that exists outside our universe. We all come from this essence in other to learn and purify ourselves in this realm. When a new life is conceived, the essence randomly selects a soul and sends it to inhabit the newly formed and developing clump of human cells. We don't get to choose where we are born and the randomness of the essence makes it possible for us to experience life in different bodies, in different places, different cultures and even different centuries.

After we die, we return to the essence and review the memories and occurences in the life we just lived. We learn the lessons and get back in the queue to return to this realm. We are not supposed to remember our past lives though while we are here because it will ruin the mission ( courtesy of Jenwitemi).
After learning what we need to learn we return to the essence and become a part of the whole and that's when our souls stop reincarnating.
I just made the crap up in seconds and it sounds just about as possible as Jenwitemi's source, your oneness of infinity, yahweh, ogun, shango, thor, odin or any other divine entity man has ever made up. I at least can say that its utter bulls_hit but someone with a spiritually inclined mind like yours would think that it's some "deep" spiritual idea.

Voodoo and black magic?    They don't have a source? Really??!! Where do they get their supposed "power" from then?

All these spiritual mumbo jumbo helps you give meaning to life but that doesn't mean they are not nonsensical and unfounded.  The source, the essence and the oneness of infinity can be our trinity. They are just as real as the christians' trinity, we'll keep it our little secret.

You haven't said a darn thing that's relevant or sensible son. Jenwitemi did not say anything about a "source that cares about him". . . he simply stated that he proceeds from a source. So its comical that you could begin to condemn that. Fact is, in terms of known science, this universe also proceeded from a source - a singularity.

It's as simple as that. Science thus proceeds from the point of view of a source. So your needless ranting frankly appears adolescent. You have NO point whatsoever, son.

Even sadder is that you contradicted yourself by alluding to voodoo and black magic having sources. That statement of ours is an explicit acknowledgement that all finite things have sources. If you state that, what grounds on earth do you have to pick a quarrel with a man who simply states that he proceeds from a source. Abi, do things proceed from nothing?

Boy, I'm convinced you are 13 years old. Just looking for an argument where there is obviously none. There is no scientist that will tow the puerile path that you have taken. You need to grow up and recognise the difference between pure scientific atheism and puerile anti-spirituality. The latter is what you seem to be suffering from.

kandiikane:
Wait did you just watch it?

No. But saw it again, and was refreshed again.

Oh yes, I had a spiritual enlightenment. . .I was even having epileptic fits on the floor of the cinema

I suppose that was indeed Holy Ghost Fire.

@ Lagerwhenindoubt. . . re: inception. . . is it not more a journey into the layers of the mind. . . rather than a spiritually impacting movie. . .?

1. Seeds, trees, animals, insects, water, leaves are all part of the web of life. Everything is alive and conscious and interconnected.

2. It may be necessary to kill for food. A clean kill involves a respect and a ritual for any animal that gives itself to you for food and other uses.

3. Even vicious and seemingly violent animals have the right to protect their turf and participate in the dance of life.

4. Having a good heart and being fearless are part of being a warrior.

5. Signs are all around us in nature and in our own experiences: they are meant to be read and interpreted.

6. Using the power within us is the way of the sacred feminine.

7. A greeting is an act of engagement with another. Open and active presence is conveyed by the words "I see you."

8. It is important to listen to the voices of the ancestors.

9. Everyone is born twice: once at birth and once again when he or she earns a place within the community.

10. Energy is pulsating in and through all forms of life.

11. Mother Earth doesn't take sides; she protects only the balance of life.

12. Healing is an act of the community calling upon the divine.

13. Everyone needs to train in attunement to the spirit in nature.

14. The magical flights of the shaman invoke spirit helpers.

15. The world is a collaborative work in progress in which each individual in the tribe has something to contribute to the whole.

Thank you Jesoul for these. I was about to start pointing these out one after the other, but you have preceded me. It is my (vain) hope that Martian will see some value in these.

Of particular interest to me is the statement "I see you'.

That statement is just so profound that I will not attempt to reduce its power by expatiating on it. Any expatiation will do it a disservice. It is best simply left as it is: "I see you."

This strikes a chord with me moreso as many years before this movie was released, myself and a very special friend of mine always used that particular refrain to express our spiritual affinity.

Martian:
The source, oneness of infinity, yahweh, oloodumare, thor, odin, eywa( I know you're a big fan ) etc are all figments of people's imaginations.
Don't try to bring science into the mix, science is not concerned about "the source" and anything beyond the big bang is currently unknowable. As far as science is concerned, the "source" is not needed.

What's so knee jerk about condemning a higher source that sounds as plausible as the other higher sources mankind has come up with. The only reason y'all think there is some higher source concerned with the human race is because of your anthropocentric view of nature.
When you think that a species that makes up less than 1 percent of a planet that is relatively invincible in cosmic terms, is the reason that the universe exist, you know you're making stuff up.

If there is a source, you, me or anybody else are not in the position to know the nature of this source. So any pseudointellectual rambling explanation you're going to give will only make sense to "spiritual" people.

For me to take your so called "sources" seriously, you have to provide scientific proof of a soul. There is no evidence for a soul or afterlife or immortality, so there is no need to examine you people's supernatural claims.
Your claims are just as likely as every other religious claim ever made.

About the christian views, I see a similarity between him making fun of zany christian beliefs while holding the same kind of extraordinary supernatural beliefs. Similar to the christians who believe in the rapture but mock Harold Camping because he put a date on it.

I'm not surprised though, afterall you got spiritual enlightenment from AVATAR!!! lmao I've heard it all. Just like the christians who thought the movie promoted paganism because the blue people in a fantasy planet thats 4.6 light years away from earth do not worship some jew called jesus who lived on earth.

Your knee-jerk approach to analyzing issues rears its head again. I hope you recognize that you have not said anything that addresses the core issue in the slightest. That issue is simply the existence of a source. As far as science is concerned, there is indeed a source of all things in this universe. That source in scientific materialist terms is called the pre-big-bang singularity. Now the nature of that singularity is still wildly debated in scientific circles. As such, science itself evinces a source, and this renders it ridiculous that you could begin to condemn a man for simply asserting himself to proceed from a source.

Your comments are all the more comical given that things are only known to have no source in voodoo and black magic. Perhaps that is the world view you subscribe to?

Martian:
You MUST be joking!!!!!

Avatar a.ka. Pocahontas on an alien planet with blue cat people? That movie??!!!!
That movie was just aother take on superior powers colonising indigenous people and stealing the indigenes' land and resources. The spirituality that you're so enamored with is based on native american spirituality or any pagan religion that diefies nature (aka mother earth aka EYWA( mother pandora).
Even all the blue people were voiced by minorities and that further shows that the movie was about colonisation and how humans are "destroying" the planet after we had destroyed ours. Just like when Europe needed more resources and went to "discover" the new world ( The Americas, Africa).

About the spirituality, what's so special about "Eywa worship"? How does one find "spirituality" in a fantasy movie??!!! Like I told Jenwitemi, you also need to hook up with the scientologists. They also found "spirituality" in fantasy.

Neytiri is Pocahontas and Jake is John Rolfe, look them up.
You just want to believe in something so bad, you will find "spirituality" in anything!!!

Gba gbe, na me talk am.

Expectedly, you have jumped head first in and totally missed the point. You have indeed sadly exposed the shallow quality of your mind. You talk about the obvious parallels with Pocahontas, and you condescendingly speak about "that movie with blue cat people." I am aghast that at some point in time I had credited you with a mind.

Indeed, as you have failed to recognise the core theme of both "Avatar" and "Pocahontas" , as my OP states, I conclusively conclude that you are spiritually dead.

If you must arise from that death: take the time to listen in all humility: and I start with one line only:

Those pictures are essentially about the difference between the[b] intellect [/b]and the spirit; between commercial greed and intuitive connection with the natural world.

^^^ I don't see anything "shitty" about his views. Would you care to explain in what way they are analogous to Christian views?

Examine your own world view first sir: and that may grant you some recognition of what is "sh1t" and what is not "sh1t". . .it is presumptuous of you to ridicule a statement as simply set forth as that one asserts himself to proceed from a source. Even scientists do not deny that, albeit that their perception of what the source is may be different or inchoate.

A knee jerk condemnation of any recognition of a higher source is both shallow, and intellectually lazy. what you should do is settle down, and determine that which is tenable and that which is not. The presupposition of a source is by all standards tenable, even if the nature of the source may be disputed.

Any person who does not derive ultimate spiritual enlightenment and/ or edification from that movie is spiritually dead.

Gba gbe, na me talk am.

thehomer:
I was led to realize that they were relating to something which also gave signs of interactions with the blue people unlike the God concept generally expressed.


I would have considered that if there was an entity matching the concept.

You would not say this if you had read and absorbed my last post.

thehomer:
This is interesting.

If one were to accept that your conception of God exists, then I wonder how you can feel love for a such a being towards whom you have no responsibility, no relationship and no sort of similarity other than maybe that both of you exist. This being also doesn't care about you (we don't even know if it is capable of such a feeling) so I wonder what you mean by love here.

You would not say this if you had watched and absorbed the movie "Avatar" which i referred to regarding the culture of the Navi on Pandora.

Could it be that you mean something closer to awe?

Of course I am in great and astonishing awe of God, as you should be too.

^^^ See Mantraa's Post #10 above. He was being sarcastic in his first post.

[quote author=d_oracle link=topic=124360.msg2113864#msg2113864 date=1207120601]If you are asked to say in one sentence why you love God, what will it be?[/quote]Because IT is all that IS.

The connection shown between the inhabitants of Pandora in the movie "Avatar" and their "Great Mother" - the one essence that permeates all things - now, that is my apprehension of the truest love of God. Anybody who understands this will understand why the love of God is synonymous with the love of creation and the love of other living beings.

One pulsating indivisible reality.

^^^ He was being sarcastic.

Quote from: ekt_bear on Today at 03:45:00 AM
^-- Christianity came to our part of the world before it came to yours. So not much of a surprise. While your ancestor was being sacrificed or tortured at some forest shrine, others in what came to be known as Nigeria were learning from the Bible

My word. Now my last iota of respect for this fellow has simply evaporated. Here he is celebrating the fact that a foreign myth landed on his shores before it arrived elsewhere. By that token thousands of Ghanaian villages should be presumed more enlightened than the rest of Africa, no?

Sao Jorge da Mina, the first European fort in Africa was built in the 12th Century.

That aside, how the devil does anyone celebrate the arrival and imposition of foreign myths and legends? ? ? ?

Men, this man, I don tire for you finish. Last time you were busy mouthing some odd story about how the Lagos port is "your port". . .

Na wah o. Fiction versus fiction. How were people saved before the advent of the Buddha nko? Question?

Duduspace -

I just want to ask you one question only. What single word is used to describe a person who keeps doing the same thing and expecting a different result?

Quote from Ekt Bear #314 on: May 19, 2011, 11:11 AM »

@Deep Sight: So Lagos Port did not come into existence before independence? Why is anyone claiming they "built" an entirely economically self-sustaining entity that predated Nigeria?

It wasn't as if they met virgin bush somewhere and built it from scratch into a major port. It generated a lot of cash since it was colonized by the Brits. . .

If anything, the port has subsidized Nigeria, rather than vice versa.

You really need to stop and take a deep breath. The port has subsidized Nigeria. Wow. Just take a deep breath. What was the structure at the port of Lagos like at independence? What has it become like? Secondly what portion of Nigeria's income comes from the port? Less than 10%. The plain truth which only deluded folk will continue to deny is that Nigeria has been financed by one factor and one factor only since 1970 - crude oil.

Now, Lagos has been the federal capital for much of our history and has been developed as such. It is thus presumptuous for any one to say of Lagos or the Lagos Port - "our ". . . . . That is just unthinking tribal divisiveness. It also smacks of a most ungrateful unwillingness to acknowledge the massive contributions of other regions to infrastructural developments, as the source of crude oil, the goose that lays the golden egg in Nigeria. There is no need for that level of divisiveness.

If we follow your reasoning, Abuja belongs to the Gwaris. That is just delusion. It is a federal city today, and that is the reality. Ditto with Lagos. It is, and has always been, the melting pot of Nigeria, and has been developed by NIGERIAN resources as such.

What? Is the world going to end today? Damn, how am I going to continue my romance with Sir Arthur Guinness? We have a date today at 17:59 hrs. Hope Christ tarries till after that. . .

@. Godson2009, Tudor has said it all. PLease go and do your research and kindly stop deifying foreign religions.

Are you not confusing things? Were there Christians in the old testament?

You ask for instances of barbarity, don't worry, I will give you zillions.

You are kidding! Omg, hope you are feeling better? Where did this happen? Man, thank God for life o.