I am writing to draw the attention of the general public to the despicable roles of our pastors and churches in the perpetration and spread of witchcraft-related abuse in the country. Most of our so-called men and women of God are to be blamed for this embarrassing and unfortunate development.

They have turned their churches and ministries into tools for witch-hunting.
They attribute all problems encountered by their members including diseases, death, accidents, poverty, unemployment, business failures, child birth difficulties – to the machinations of witches and wizards in their families and communities. Many of our evangelists, prophets and apostles have caused divisions and conflicts in many homes.
They incite their members to hate, turn against, kill or persecute members of their families and communities particularly old people, women, children or people with disabilities. Many pastors claim to have powers to identify and destroy the spirit of witchcraft and to exorcise anybody found to be possessed by this demonic spirit.
They organise witch-screening and witch-deliverance sessions where all those alleged to be witches and wizards are demonised, stigmatised and subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment in the name of exorcism. Unfortunately very little has been done to combat the spread of witchcraft related abuse and to bring to justice these criminals and charlatans who call themselves pastors and evangelists. The spread of witchcraft accusation has made our country Nigeria a laughing stock internationally. It has confirmed Nigeria as a nation that lacks the rule of law, respect for human rights and a sound educational system.
I am therefore calling upon President Goodluck Jonathan and all our state governors to take extra legislative and administrative measures to tackle witchcraft accusations and to bring to justice all witch hunting pastors and churches. All government agencies should step up efforts and campaigns to enlighten the people, prosecute and punish all those who indulge in witchcraft accusations, witch persecution and killing. Witchcraft accusations and related abuses must stop.

By Leo Igwe

thanks fancdec4 and jenkord, I would try out these options

frosbel: I have come to the conclusion that[b] Tithes are membership fees that members of denominations have to pay to their various social clubs [/b], to enjoy certain privileges.

Though , with these clubs, you can be a faithful and loyal member and still get nothing back in return.

For example , your membership fees may be used to build schools, universities or even buy Jets and neither you nor your children will ever enjoy these wonderful things.

In fact , it has been known that in some cases when you are in dire need and great difficulty, you may be asked to go elsewhere for help, such as to your close relatives and friends.

Disclaimer : Please , may I also say there are many very dedicated churches and pastors out there who do not fall into this category.

Test the spirits.

Will expatiate on this later.

Tithe payers = regular members

Partnership Seeds sowers = Premium members

christemmbassey: @Frosbel & Goshen, with ppl like you guys there is hope for the church in Nigeria, if u must know, christemmbassey is a pastor in living waters, a new church in Calabar, remain blessed.

The last time I was at a Church that bears same name as your moniker, I felt like I was in a Club. If I had not read your post, I would have judged you to be a hypocrite. I could easily have grouped you with the likes of Bidam, Image123 and joagbaje. I like it When Christians stand for truth at all times.

@TRV_IJN, you got mail

Nice job kaycee....

aletheia:
^
I see. Stop selectively reading those verses. No one is born an atheist. Atheists become atheists from a position of seeing the evidence for God.
Didn't you see this part in verse 22: Professing themselves to be wise, [size=18pt]they became fools[/size].

As far as I am concerned: if the Bible says it, then that settles it!

Can you put this "fools" in perspective, so we are clear what you understand it to mean?

ezme:

I noticed you didn't back this up with scripture. You relied on our ability to recognize God's voice through others.How does one acquire this skill? Do you have Christians you hold in high esteem? Do you usually see God in their speech and carriage? If you have answered "YES" to my last two questions, would it not be a natural progression for you to believe whatever these people's position on certain issues be that of God? I also believe this is a direct contradiction to Hebrew 1:1, I may have a myopic understanding of that but you can look into it and get back to me.

frosbel:

refer to point 1

It doesn't answer my questions, I was referring to things outside the scripture e.g God's choice of one's life partner for you. Christians usually seek their leader's position (God's position) on their intended decision

.

frosbel:

5.Other People. We can learn to recognize and hear God’s voice speaking to us through other people. Of course this includes older brothers and sisters and those who are pastors, teachers, and the like. But God can speak through anyone – young or old, believer or unbeliever. For example, God often speaks to me through other people, even when they do not realize He is using them to speak to me. And even though I may be “older” in the Lord and a teacher, I have things to learn from those who are younger. Even our critics and “enemies” (according to the flesh) can be used by God to teach and reveal truth to us. So we must not limit ourselves to thinking that God must always speak directly to us and would never speak through someone else. This attitude would almost certainly guarantee that God will use someone else to help you get over this self-centered view. On the other hand, if we are always looking to other people for guidance then it represents a flaw in our walk that must be corrected.

I noticed you didn't back this up with scripture. You relied on our ability to recognize God's voice through others.How does one acquire this skill? Do you have Christians you hold in high esteem? Do you usually see God in their speech and carriage? If you have answered "YES" to my last two questions, would it not be a natural progression for you to believe whatever these people's position on certain issues be that of God? I also believe this is a direct contradiction to Hebrew 1:1, I may have a myopic understanding of that but you can look into it and get back to me.

frosbel:

2.Inward Witness. How does God give us specific guidance about matters not spoken of in Scripture? He uses the inward witness (or “gentle nudging”) of the Holy Spirit. How does one know to go here, or look there, or study this, or dig deeper into that, or pray about this particular matter? Where do these sparks of inspiration and insight come from? They come from the Holy Spirit, as He seeks to lead us into all truth. Sometimes these leadings are barely noticeable, almost as if you were thinking to yourself. At other times, these leadings are genuine “light bulb” moments when you slap yourself on the forehead and exclaim, “Of course! Why didn’t I see that before?” This may appear to be in the realm of the mind, and the mind is certainly involved, but it actually originates in the realm of the spirit, where the Holy Spirit moves and “the eyes of your understanding are enlightened” (Eph. 1:18). The key is to take none of this for granted. Treasure all these little insights and store them away in your heart.

The above explanation, is it limited to revelation on bible related matters or on all aspects of our life? I would need your response on this before I comment any further.

frosbel:

1.Written Scripture. Scripture is the objective criterion against which all subjective revelation is measured, weighed, tested, and interpreted. That is to say, the Holy Spirit will not reveal something to a prophet that contradicts what has already been revealed in Scripture. “Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven” (Ps. 119:89). The prophetic word is rooted in the written Word, and that Word is settled forever. We must submit ourselves to His Word, and not try to make the Word submit to us or to our revelation. Take for an example the prophet Daniel. Daniel began to fast and pray after he “learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years” (Dan. 9:2). To reward Daniel’s willingness to search for answers and to pray, God gave Daniel a vision that supported the written revelation of Jeremiah. Now both Jeremiah and Daniel’s prophecies are part of Scripture. Study that example and you will save yourself from a lot of unnecessary confusion and misunderstanding. The prophet must avoid the realm of speculation and learn not to go beyond what is written (1 Cor. 4:6). This is good advice, not just for prophets, but for all of God’s people. We must master the written revelation, as this will be the basis upon which we will approve or reject any subsequent revelation.

I'm happy that you brought this up and backed it with scripture, I hope Bidam, image123, joabaje would see this. So many falsehoods are being perpetrated in the Church using spiritual revelation(spiritual principles) as the escape route when they cannot be backed up with the bible. This is a loop hole that would leave millions of gullible Christians defrauded and misled.

Anyone made app fees payment to University of Alberta before? What was your experience like? I've been having challenges since day 1

@earthgreeners, I need your email address

Joagbaje:

Thats your carnal interpretation. Is it wrong to be motivated by end result. God was motivated by result . Jesus was motivated by result. Paul was. You really have to write a new bible dude

Please elaborate on the bolded

davidylan:

You obviously know nothing about christianity.

Enlighten me then, that would be one more saved soul. Dear davidylan, why do you believe?

davidylan:

Of course you are not a hypocrite... you just happen to be quite confused.

If you are truly a christian then you have all the proof you need in the bible and in your heart. Being a christian these days has become nothing more than a social badge of acceptance. Little wonder the atheists laugh at us so much.

If you only believe "because you believed all your life" then you truly should consider making a choice. Obviously you have zero idea what christianity is all about. you should be bold enough to take the plunge to atheism...

I used to say all you have said to people in the past feeling all saved and like I know better. We were promised in the bible that we would perform greater signs and wonders than Jesus did and fastrack to 2013 and see for yourself what signs and wonders have been reduced to:

Testimonies
1. I passed my JAMB with flying colours.
2. I just got a promotion in the office.
3. The MOG prayed with me and I had a successful appendix operation
4. I prayed for a new car and we were given car loan at the office.

Are there not rational explanations for all these?

davidylan:

For starters, why dont you give them since you claim to be a christian too?

1. To say that atheism is not a faith is evidence you dont understand what the issue truly is. Faith is not merely when you claim allegiance to a pixie in the sky... infact one definition of "faith" says it this way - Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

Atheists show complete confidence in one thing - the validity of science and its ability to explain away anything that has the remotest sniff of "divine intelligence". If that isnt faith then i dont know what is.

As an aside, atheists arent asking for a reason to believe as much as they are trying too hard to justify their own decision to NOT believe. Aside from walking them right down to God's bedroom... they are not interested in anything else.

2. lol so only people who have a holy book can lay claim to a faith? Bro pls move on to less serious threads... this is not for jokers.

I'm a Christian, but I'm not a hypocrite(most of us are), we can both agree that proof requires evidence and I don't have one. I only believe because I believed it all my life.

davidylan:

For starters, why dont you give them since you claim to be a christian too?

1. To say that atheism is not a faith is evidence you dont understand what the issue truly is. Faith is not merely when you claim allegiance to a pixie in the sky... infact one definition of "faith" says it this way - Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

Atheists show complete confidence in one thing - the validity of science and its ability to explain away anything that has the remotest sniff of "divine intelligence". If that isnt faith then i dont know what is.

As an aside, atheists arent asking for a reason to believe as much as they are trying too hard to justify their own decision to NOT believe. Aside from walking them right down to God's bedroom... they are not interested in anything else.

2. lol so only people who have a holy book can lay claim to a faith? Bro pls move on to less serious threads... this is not for jokers.

And do you realize that Science has a capacity to be self-correcting and theories are only valid till the emergence of a superior argument? Science is not afraid to say I'm wrong.

Sir, this is not about arguing to win. I have come to realize that people get unduly sentimental when issues bordering on religion and ethnicity are being debated.

davidylan:

That's absolute nonsense... i was measured in my approach with those who were interested in civil discourse. For those who want to act like vagabonds while howling at others to "respect them"... well you can find that "respect" elsewhere. On that same thread, i had a nice convo with many others, so try the character assassination trick again.

To the point of the matter... if you cannot take the heat that your own illogical premise brings... feel free to stay out of the thread. If you are looking for docile christians who allow atheists to just spout off, insult their faith, call their sense of judgement into question while whinning for "respect"... you just entered the wrong thread. Have fun in the jokes section.

Just so you know I presently share your Christian faith, and I don't see where faith comes in when talking about Atheism. They don't have a holy book containing tenets by which they live. All they are asking for is a reason to believe, Christians haven't given them that.

Maybe my thought process is distorted but between an atheist and a Christian who practices blind faith?

davidylan:

You're either dishonest or quite dull... by definition, christianity is a FAITH... so how can it be playing the faith card?

I saw from the Child support thread that you lack the ability to control your emotions when trying to make premises, I would not have this debate with you until you show some respect.

Bidam: yeah..dats the work of the Holy Spirit..good one bro..

After how many days? Was there a break in transmission?

And you Bidam, you said Rev. Chris Okotie missed it in another thread, better go back there and let the holy spirit use you over there.

oiseworld:

You claim to be a pastor following God sheepishly, have you ever stop to ask God your reward for following him. Even if you won't ask, he will tell you. He will reward all is followers and that is the basis. REWARD, REWARD, REWARD...

If u don't believe in heaven or hell, then you need not follow God... Don't bring dat I love him rubbish, it doesn't exist.

Is this what you teach in your church? smh

Oiseworld = YBNL

@TRV_IJN, I'm waiting on your feedback

Matthew 6.33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness;and all these things shall be added unto you

The preceding verses to this were emphasizing on God's ability to cater for us.

@Joagbaje/oiseworld
These are the words of Christ himself according to Matthew, stating in what order we should approach Christianity. I don't know if your prosperity teachers know better than Christ himself.

davidylan:

one atheist who is at least honest enough to state the truth... much of the foundation for atheism is based on blind faith.

Putting faith and atheism in one sentence really got me confused. Do atheists have a common belief system or they just reject the existence of a supreme being as many religion tend to project? What is the basis for the atheist's argument? Is it logic or faith?

davidylan:

one atheist who is at least honest enough to state the truth... much of the foundation for atheism is based on blind faith.

And what is Christianity/Islam based on? Really how many Christians/muslim can actually explain why dey believe without playing the faith card? If the bulk of the atheist here cannot give answers regarding evolution, does that make Christianity right? Does that really prove anything?

@frosbel, when would you begin to address the issues that led to these deconversions? I'm particularly interested in this Mrs Enotie Ezekiel's story, she raised some questions that would shake the belief system of any open-minded Christian.

frosbel:

You tell me , you guys are the experts !

I presently share your Christian faith so I'm not the enemy here. If your motive is to teach, you should have answers or plan to come with some later on

@frosbel, I would appreciate a similar thread for Christians...

Mr Frosbel, who decides reason, delusion or faith?