₦airaland Forum

i'm also about to buy a laptop. i was thinking of HP but since I stumbled on this thread i'm already considering MAC. i'm not familiar with MAC - have never seen or used it- but as my PC has crashed several times because of virus attacks, i am ready to learn how to use MAC.

I've been to the Apple website, which of the 2 notebook types - MacBook and MacBook Pro - would be best for a student?

texazzpete, i feel u. they are ready to spend billions of dollars on warring countries but not in Africa where kids are dying of hunger and disease.


niteridder, the reason for the large casualty difference in Isreal and Lebanon is the Isreali government cares for its citizens and are taking steps to ensure their safety. The Lebanese govt./Hezbollah don't care about the Lebanese citizens. All they care about is destroying Israel. Why didn't Hezbollah help to evacuate the ppl of Qana (many of whom are their supporters)? D Lebanese govt. is only criticizing Israel, they aren't thinking of how to help their citizens. Israel seems to care more for the Lebanese ppl than their own govt.

I wasn't there when God spoke to Pastor Adeboye, so I can't say it's true or not. I wish though, that Nigerian pastors would not feel compelled to make prophecies every year. We're seeing so many unfulfilled prophecies. I don't know if God told them or not. I am not a prophetess so I cant claim to know God's position on some of these issues.

@ TVO1, i love that reference to horoscopes. Some ppl use pastors' prophecies like horoscopes. I know ppl who go to pastors b4 they make any decision. Christians should realize that we all have equal access to God. Personally, I don't belive in the "God has favourites" theory. He loves everyone enough to hear our prayers.

@ Enigma, i agree with all u've said.

Jesus was famous, he did things no one else had done. there's no way he wouldn't have been famous. however, we can see that his attitude to fame was different. whenever ppl came to see him, he turned them to God. pastors and evangelists with healing ministries, or large congregations would be famous but they should turn the ppl to God and away from themselves. The problem comes when they begin to enjoy the fame.

To answer the original question, I believe this bold anti-Jews/Christian stance of Muslims around the world is a sign that things are being put in place for the coming of the antichrist. I believe this is World War III coming and of course, the Rapture.

This makes sense if u consider how bold muslims can be in showing their hatred for Christians.

Retro,

Nigerians are usually very religious. Apart from Christianity and Islam, our cultures are intertwined with various traditional religions. Atheism is a foreign concept and many Nigerians find it difficult to accept. I, for one, believe everyone has a right to believe whatever they want to, though I hope that the atheists here would get converted. I don't think christians here are intolerant as u make it seem. Christianity is exclusive, i.e. it claims to be the only true way to God. We christians believe that and say that. I haven't seen anyone call someone a fool for not believing in God, though the Bible actually refers to those who say there's no God as fools. I don't see any Christian throwing that around here. As I said, Christianity is exclusive, but it's also very loving and tolerant. We don't go around insulting people for not believing in Jesus. I don't think Christians here are any less tolerant than muslims or atheists.

TayoD,

I share your concerns about muslims here killing christians. As much as we may like to pretend it isn't so, the rest of the world is bcoming increasingly scared of Arabs and Islam. They don't seem to have any respect for human life. People who can strap bombs on the bodies of their own kids, who can kill their kids for apostasy, who can kill themselves in other to get a few enemies dead. These are dangerous people. They've got the bigger, oil rich lands in the region. Yet, they want that small strip that belongs to Israel. Israel is ready to live in peace with Palestine. They withdrew from Gaza even when many people didn't want them to. They withdrew from Lebanon also. These countries are the ones who reneged on the deal. Israel has always shown a commendable commitment to releasing any Israeli hostage. They've swapped prisoners for them several times. I think their neighbors were just taking them for granted. The truth is that the Arabs HATE Israel in a fearful way. They can give anything to see that country annihilated. Many of these Islamic/Arab govts rank destroying Israel higher than protecting their citizens. Lebanon and Palestine are showing us just that. Arabs/Muslims generally have more freedom in Western countries than in their countries.

toshmann:
just for 2 soldiers. how many people have died now?

israel should stop.

please

CNN just reported a Canadian living in Israel saying that it's impressive how much care the government of Israel is taking to protect its citizens from being hit by the rockets.

Compare that to the Lebanese and Hezbollah who wouldn't release 2 soldiers to protect hundreds of women and children.

Or the Palestinians who wouldn't release a 19 year old boy and give their citizens some relief from all the bombing. that some Palestinian ministers are in Israel's custody is unthinkable. It only means that they hate Israel enough to substitute an unimportant boy for high-ranking citizens. It's despicable.

The truth is Israel is surrounded by countries with so much hatred for her that they dont mind killing themselves to destroy Israel. When an Israeli businessman was captured by Palestinian militants years ago, they swapped prisoners for him. That's how much they value life. They are not dealing with normal human beings here.

toshmann,

Nigeria acts right when our militants capture foreigners. The Lebanese government is either supporting Hezbollah or their prisoner. If they are supporting Hezbollah, Israel is justified in bombing Lebanon. If the govt. is Hezbollah's prisoner, Israel would liberate them. The goverment of Lebanon could have responded properly by going after Hezbollah. It's odd that they should put hundreds of their citizens in danger because of two soldiers. One Israeli official said that a dead Israeli means victory for the Arabs, but a dead Arab is a sad thing to the Israelis. This war shows how true it is. It seems both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government don't have the people of Lebanon in mind. Israel seems to care more for them. See how the government of Israel is taking care to keep the casualty level low. Sometimes I wonder if these people in the Middle East are the same kind of humand beings as us. I don't know if it is their religion that makes them like that or if they are the ones giving their religion that image. Their hatred of Israel seems to cloud up their vision so much they don't mind losing hundreds of their own citizens to see a few Israelis dead.

I'm also following the events in the Middle East. I am not sure where the US fits into biblical prophecy about Israel. I don't know much of those prophecies. I believe this war is a sign that the Rapture is near because Israel would probably be really threatened by many countries by the time of the Rapture. This is why they would accept a non-Jew as Messiah (d antichrist) because he would offer them peace.

I'm glad the US supports Israel and I believe God blesses them for that. I do not hate the Arab countries, but the fact remains that they (and indeed many people) hate Israel. Israel is surrounded by so much hatred - ppl who hate them and/or their God - and it is good that they have a strong ally. I wish those countries in the Middle East could come together and live as one, but that is not to be. I hate it whenever Israel and Palestine are at war. I LOVE Israel (they're the kinsmen of my God) but I feel bad for the Palestinians who are already poor and wretched. I feel especially bad for the children who would grow up to hate Jews and Christians because I know it is God they're fighting. The devil hates them even though he is using them. I pray more and more of them would come to the Truth.

I do not bother about Israel being annihilated or facing any terrible disaster. I believe that God would save them from such, somehow or the other. Their tribulation hasn't come yet, at least not in full. They've got a big role to play in Jesus' Kingdom so they'll be here. I pray for Israel all the time. I know they can't have peace yet, but I pray the people would come to know and accept Jesus.

I believe she must have agreed to the switch. Who knows, maybe it's a way of preparing her to run for presidency in 2007 or sometime soon. Whatever it is, I don't think she's d kind of person who would accept a demotion or something she doesn't like after she's performed so well.

I believe the change in the Education ministry was needed. Oby Ezekwensili would be better for the ministry than her predecessor.

Donnie,

I’m so glad that unlike the other “supporters” (God knows I’m not an opponent), you realize that there are “thieves and greedy men in pastor’s clothing”. Your fellow “supporters” are pretending there’s no such thing. Saying we should obey anyone who mentions God, as if God Himself didn’t warn that many would come falsely in His name. I have nothing at all against ur pastor, all I’m saying is that there’s no way we can know who is a “thief or greedy man in pastor’s clothing” except we crosscheck everyone who comes in “pastor’s clothing”. I’ve never said “Pastor A is bad”, I’m only saying let’s crosscheck them all to ensure we’re following a true pastor.



TayoD,

I understand the sentiments behind that quote submitted by Ijebuman. Christianity can be (and has at sometimes been) distorted to make that quote true. Christianity when practiced as it should be adds to the people, but many people today don’t feel anything is being added to them. They feel they’re adding to the church. Haven’t u heard of ppl who don’t go to church because they have no offering, and their church collects 3 or more offerings? I’m not against churches being affluent. I’m only particular about how they use that wealth. I believe it would be better to invest in lives, eternal souls, bodies that house the Holy Spirit than to invest in buildings that the Antichrist would either confiscate or destroy. BTW, are u sure churches still don’t ask members and non-members for money?

Gospelman,

I wish I could lie and say I wasn't surprised by ur post, but I was. I was so shocked at the venom in ur post that I couldn't reply u immediately I read it. I felt paralyzed by the shock that I began to wonder if the leprosy you talked about had already come on me. Thank God for His mercies, though, I'm still alive and healthy one week after.

I'm surprised u chose me to attack especially as I made it quite clear I have nothing against Pastor Chris. I talk about pastors and not one pastor in particular. Surely, there are ppl here who are very close to being anti-Pastor Chris that u could have attacked.

I really want to answer ur post, to take u up on every issue but it would be a waste of time. I've already said everything I would say if I were to answer ur post anyway. So I decided to just ignore it and not retaliate (I believe that's expected of a christian). Not that I have any choice though, because I'm not sure I can direct such a hateful speech at anybody (not even you).


BTW, what's the meaning of phronesis? Just curious.

KAG,

I heard Charles Darwin recanted on his deathbed too. I'm not sure I believe it. people always like to tell stories to fit their beliefs, and we can't always verify the truth especially in cases where the person the story is about is dead.

That's why Christians shouldn't base their beliefs on men. God has already told us all we need to know in the bible. If religious leaders say there is no God, good for them. We shouldnt believe because of anybody.

Seun, that passage u quoted in the bible is more about reincarnation than "life after death" experiences. I suppose by life after death, u mean either the Resurrection of the dead christians believe in or the experiences ppl claim to have had during a period when they died and rose again. The bible doesn't in any way contradict this. It tells us that there'll be a resurrection of the dead, and actually refers to death as sleep. Concerning dying and rising again, there are several instances in the bible - both O.T and N.T. - where people died and were raised to life again. What the bible is against is the idea of reincarnation, and communicating with ghosts or spirits of the dead, and all those Ouija board sorts.


God gives every man enough time to repent, and being God He deciedes what is enough for each man.

I don't believe many of those stories we hear about ppl who die and say God sent them back to preach to the world or to tell a "special" message to the world. Like the story of Lazarus and the rich man, there are enough ppl on earth to preach to the world.

mrmayor,

thanks. concerning the church stuff, i have no interest at all in becoming a pastor, or starting a church. God hasn't called me to that, and i'm very glad about that.


I agree that evil came into the world through Adam and Eve, afterall they were the first human beings. However, even before Adam and Eve evil was present. They only brought it into our world. Lucifer was the first to do evil and he tricked Eve into sinning against God. God created Adam and Eve sinless, and gave them some measure of independence. He was friends with them, He had told them not to do something. He had warned them of the presence of evil. That was as far as He would go. They had to choose by themselves between evil and good. They chose evil.

Plus, we should remember that when God gave the Sabbath (and the entire Mosaic Law) to the Jews, they were a theocracy. God, through Moses, directed everything about their lives; gave laws to direct every relationship or transaction.

Sabbath is Saturday. The Sabbath is a covenant between God and the Jews. We christians aren't bound by it. The N.T. Church assembled on Sundays probably because of the resurrection of Jesus, which is the foundation of christianity. I believe that we can worship on any day of the week, as God owns all the days. I think Messianic Jews meet on the Sabbath.

i believe many do it for publicity, though some might do it out of sympathy. I believe that what matters is that they really take care of the kids. Not just provide financial security, but really be there for them and not abuse them sexually or any other way. There's so much child abuse going on these days and i believe ppl are more likely to abuse kids they didn't give birth to.

The term "evil" is relative, so it depends on what u mean by evil. I think of evil as sin i.e. going against God (since He is Good).

This is my opinion:

God created everything and everyone good. He didn't want His associates to be zombies; He wanted them to love Him from their hearts not because He forced them to. So He gave them freewill - they could choose to love Him or not. Everything was good till Lucifer began to want to be God. This desire degenerated to hatred for God, and overtook him so much that he rebelled against God. This is where evil came, when Lucifer began to envy and/or hate God. God wanted the angels to have the right to worship Him or not. He didn't create evil, everything was good then. However, when Satan wanted to overthrow Him, evil was born. So I believe satan is the father of all evil.

I remember vaguely something I read about earthquakes, volcanoes etc.: Satan is the prince of this world for now. Till He returns for His millenial reign, God isn't the one in charge. Satan is in charge because men chose him over God to rule over them. Satan has no power, as God stripped him of that, but he manipulates men and uses their power against them. He can't force men, he can only manipulate, trick and deceive. That's how he managed to get control over the world. However, any man that accepts Jesus comes out of satan's domain, and God can act on such a man's behalf. Such a man has power over the forces of evil. Even then, he would pass through problems because he is living in a world that hates God, whom he has chosen to follow. He must pass through persecution, and problems. That is a sign that he truly loves God. The collective power/prayer of all such ppl i.e. The Church, restrains the devil from wreaking as much havoc as he would have loved to. We have the backing of heaven and satan respects that. During the tribulation, when the Church would have been taken away, the devil would have a free ride with humans and he would cause a lot of troubles then.

I like and respect pastors generally, and believe that there are so many sincere ones. Like any other profession, we have corrupt practicians. However, I feel it is our duty to keep corruption out of the church. I don't like it when pastors manipulate their congregation, and believe it's best for us to be alert. We tend to let down our guards in church, and we should, except that we must be on the watchout for the wolves in sheep clothing. The truth is, we can never know for sure who is a wolf except we are watching out for them.

I really hope my posts haven't cut across as cynical because I'm not. I'm not holy, righteous or good. I'm not an expert in church matters. I'm just someone, who as a child loved God, and everything that had to do with church. I loved my pastor sooo much and thought he was infallible. He, rather than the bible, was my standard. If someone had told me then that he was my god, I'd have disagreed. but looking back, I see that he was demigod to me. In my heart, he was between God and the rest of mankind, though much closer to God. Then I started hearing and noticing things, but being a loyal child, i dismissed them. Told myself it was bad ppl spoiling my mind. These things bcame so obvious i couldn't dismiss them anymore. Somehow, God helped me through a period of not even caring about Him or church or anything/anybody. I believe that this pastor may not be bad in himself, however, i had placed on such a high pedestal that i began to see God through him. When i was eventually forced to see a fault in him, I saw God as faulty.

I think this state of mind is very common in Nigeria; we tend to think that way of pastors. When we focus on pastors, they bcome a barrier between us and God. We shouldn't, they are men like us, dependent on the same grace of God to live aright. Except that many times, they've learnt to subdue their flesh in a way we haven't.  They normally can't do anything extraordinary on their own, it's God who does it through them. But we sometimes bcome so impressed by some of these wonders, that they are forced to do all sorts of things to maintain the status quo.

thanks Raldsfield.

monieazie, i'm not sure i know what churchious means, so i can't say if i am or not.
I disagree very strongly that if they say God said, then it is true. I'm not saying we shouldn't obey them, I'm saying we must find out if what they're saying is truly from God. Jesus Himself warned that many would come in His name but they would be wolves in sheep clothing. He even said that many of those who are casting out demons and performing miracles in His name aren't known to Him. Thus, we shouldn't just obey a pastor because he is called that, or because he performs miracles. We all have access to God, and we can verify if a pastor is doing God's will or not.

It is easy for us - christians- to be deceived, especially as we're to go about it as children. This is why we should be serpents but gentle as doves. We need to realize that pastors aren't infallible. They commit the same sins as you & me, even though it may not show from afar. We must shift our focus from pastors to God. Like us, they are dependent on God's grace. We are all important to God.

One thing I've discovered is that ppl twist scriptures to support whatever they want to say. This is worse in pentecostal circles, where the Holy Spirit is emphasized. Since our relationships with Him are personal, ppl can claim to have heard just about anything from God. We are to prayerfully separate the truth from the lies.

Dblock, there's no doubt the catholic church has a lot of secrets, however, christians don't base their judgments on the catholic church but on the Bible. Of course, being such an old institution, they have access to several historical documents, etc., other churches/ppl don't have access to. But, whatever "facts" anyone comes up with must agree with the bible to pass as a fact with Christians.


Belloti, even though the bible is much older than Islam or Muhammed, we can infer from it that Islam and Chrstianity aren't the same, and that Jesus and Muhammed weren't sent by the same Person. The Islam contradicts some fundamental christian doctrines, and cannot be the same at all. You only have to read the bible to see that Islam/Muhammed and Jesus/Christianity are very different and that any similarities are superficial.


Pls note that christians don't accept the Koran's account (and many other accounts) of Jesus' life, and a whole lot of other things. We see the bible as the only one infallible account in history and generally don't accept anything that contradicts it.

May God have mercy on me if I'm wrong, but I believe that we Nigerians have taken this "touch not my annointed" to another level. When God asked us to test the spirits of anyone who claims to come in His name, how did He expect us to do it? We are not supposed to take everything our pastors say or do just like that, we are to compare it to the standards set by God in the Bible. If they don't measure up to God's standards, we have every right as His children to say. OK, maybe we shouldn't be saying it to unbelievers, and not on the internet. I guess we should point the Truth out in the church. However, we're in a society whereby the Pastor is the One and Only, and All in All in the church. Anyone who disagrees with the leader of a church is ostracized. The church has left NO room for criticism. The pastors expect us to take their words as God's words whether or not they agree with the bible. This is what we're against, and if they wouldn't allow us criticize it in the church, we might as well do it elsewhere where christians are.

The truth is, many Nigerians are being manipulated by their pastors. They think they're christians but they aren't; their pastors are leading them to hell. The onus is on those of us whose eyes have opened to this wickedness in the church to point it out. I'm not saying pastor Chris or any other person is bad. All I'm saying is we should always cross-check our pastors' actions and deeds with the bible. That "touch not" passage means don't harm them - physically, verbally, spiritually etc. I'm not doing that.

I believe the only things they have in common are that they both descended from Abraham, and that they both have millions of followers.

Afeni, you just said it that they're happy even in the face of power failure. That was probably the deciding factor in calling us the happiest. If you're happy because u have a good job, a nice house and car, there's no big deal about that. But if you're happy when you have no house, and no good job; you can dance even though you don't know where your next meal is coming from, then u deserve an award.

The issue is that, with all these problems facing the average Nigerian, we're still happy. Nigerians are very optimistic, at least on an individual level. I believe you should come to Nigeria. You'll see what we're talking about.

Nigerians know that other countries have uninterrupted power supply and complain about it frequently. It is my experience that Nigerians would rather associate themselves with advanced countries than developing ones. Have u heard the tone with which Nigerians refer to other Third World countries? U'd think we're really advanced.

gidig,

i attend RCCG but I don't know much about TITV. I know that they spend money on some things I believe aren't proper, but when a pastor says "God says", everyone keeps quiet. All I'm saying is that that is a wrong doctrine; that we should accept everything a pastor says. We have equal rights as children of God as pastors - God has no grandchildren, we're all His children. The bible encourages us to test the spirit behind whatever our pastors do, this doesn't mean we're disrespecting them. There are a whole lot of issues I feel strongly about in the RCCG.


It's not like we're attacking Pastor Chris or any other pastor. The issue here isn't so much how or where he plans to raise the money to fund these businesses. The issue is what role did God plan for money to play in the church, and is money being used in that direction or not? Did God really plan for churches to own businesses, and for pastors to be in charge of (or oversee) money? Is church money being used right?


When we start respecting or fearing men (pastors) to the extent that we can go against the will of God, then we have a big problem. This is what we're up against here. We're saying Nigerian christians need to start taking care they don't do this.

Afeni,

It isn't true at all that Nigerians don't know what's going on in other countries. On the contrary, they know and probably even think too much of other countries. For example, Nigerians tend to believe that if you can just get to America, your life would be good. I've heard people say they don't mind washing plates there. Plus, Nigerians crave the best things of life. We're generally not ppl who are satisfied with little; we don't cut our coats according to our sizes. We have lots of low income earners who use one or more mobile phones. Someone told me recently of an area in Lagos where many people living in "face-me-I-face-you" houses had DSTV dishes. You go to the houses of some really low income earners and see amenities that you'd think are out of their reach. Considering that we don't have much access to mortgage facilities like ppl in advanced countries do, you can imagine that many Nigerians go to great lengths to get these desirable things of life.

I read a book that warned christians to be careful of pastors who style themselves after O.T. prophets. Many nigerian pastors do it and that's wrong. O.T. prophets had ALL the authority because only they heard from God and the ppl had to obey them. In the N.T. God, thru Jesus, came down to our level and christians don't need to go thru any man to get to God. N.T. churches are more like fellowships, the leader isn't far above the rest like it was in the O.T.

I love to point out how Paul (a relative new-comer, who even persecuted christians in the past) openly criticized Peter (the Leader chosen by Jesus Himself) before gentiles. Obviously, Peter accepted the criticism and wasnt offended. Many pastors would rather be like the O.T. prophets, who no one dared challenge.