₦airaland Forum

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/24/close.call.ap/index.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Human beings may have had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, an extensive genetic study suggests.

The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday.

The report notes that a separate study by researchers at Stanford University estimated that the number of early humans may have shrunk as low as 2,000 before numbers began to expand again in the early Stone Age.

"This study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species' history," said Spencer Wells, National Geographic Society explorer in residence.

"Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA."

Wells is director of the Genographic Project, launched in 2005 to study anthropology using genetics. The report was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Studies using mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down through mothers, have traced modern humans to a single "mitochondrial Eve," who lived in Africa about 200,000 years ago.

The migrations of humans out of Africa to populate the rest of the world appear to have begun about 60,000 years ago, but little has been known about humans between Eve and that dispersal.

The new study looks at the mitochondrial DNA of the Khoi and San people in South Africa, who appear to have diverged from other people between 90,000 and 150,000 years ago.

The researchers led by Doron Behar of Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, and Saharon Rosset of IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, and Tel Aviv University concluded that humans separated into small populations before the Stone Age, when they came back together and began to increase in numbers and spread to other areas.

Eastern Africa experienced a series of severe droughts between 135,000 and 90,000 years ago, and researchers said this climatological shift may have contributed to the population changes, dividing into small, isolated groups that developed independently.

Paleontologist Meave Leakey, a Genographic adviser, asked, "Who would have thought that as recently as 70,000 years ago, extremes of climate had reduced our population to such small numbers that we were on the very edge of extinction?"

Today, more than 6.6 billion people inhabit the globe, according to the US. Census Bureau.

The research was funded by the National Geographic Society, IBM, the Waitt Family Foundation, the Seaver Family Foundation, Family Tree DNA and Arizona Research Labs.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/24/close.call.ap/index.html
http://anthropology.net/2008/04/25/on-mtdna-diversity-within-africa-before-the-out-of-africa-migrations/?referer=sphere_related_content

luvus:
The origin of the lie of evolution began with satan.

Evolution as a theory was not propounded until the 1800s. But the artifact of evolution have been around for billions of years. Why did satan have to wait billions of years before coming up with this "lie"?

Answers to some of the Questions:


3) Which Book of the Old Testament contains the following words; "Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death." ?

Exodus 21: 17. How many Christians know that there is such a barbaric injunction in their holy book? Why do they not observe this law? Jesus warns against the abandonment of the laws in Matthew 5. So why should this one not be observed?


4) Which OT character sacrifice his daughter to the Lord, after the Lord help him defeat his enemies?

Jephthah, in Judges 11. I wonder what moral lesson can be drawn from this barbaric act!

5) When was the book of Daniel written?

The book of Daniel presents itself as having being written in the 6th century BCE, during the reigns of the Babylonian rulers Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar and the Persians Cyrus and Darius. From that point in time it presents itself as predicting events in the ancient Near East during the 5th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. But strangely, whenever Daniel talks about the 6th century it is vague and inaccurate and when it talks about the second century it is quite detailed and exact. This gives some idea as to the time of composition.

With regard to the 6th century, the book of Daniel opens with;

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.

2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.


But in fact Jehoiakim reigned for eleven years: it was only in the first year of his son and successor Jehioachin that Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem, captured it, and "carried off the treasures of the House of the Lord" (2 Kings 28:8-13). The author of Daniel is quite weak on the facts about the 6th century BCE, and continues to be so in his account of the fall of Babylon to Persia in the year 539. He writes that "Belshazzar king of the Chaldaeans was slain, and Darius the Mede took the kingdom" (Daniel 5:30). But it was Cyrus the Persian who conquered Babylon (Ezra 1:1); there was never a king Darius the Mede. The author of Daniel confusedly imagines him in place of Darius the Persian, who succeeded Cyrus' son Cambyses in 521 BCE. The author of Daniel also confusedly imagines that Cyrus succeeded Darius (though in fact Darius succeeded Cyrus' son), and imagines that Balshazzar was the son of Nebuchadnezzar (5:11) though he was in fact the son of Nabonidus. Nabonidus, in turn, was not related to any of his predecessors, including Nebuchadnezzar; so the author of Daniel was ignorant even of the lineage of the ruler, Belshazzar, in whose court Daniel was said to be "chief of the Magicians" (5:11).

Thus it ought not surprise the attentive reader of the book of Daniel that modern critical scholars of the bible are unanimous in their conviction that Daniel "actually comes from the 2nd century BCE", and that its pretence of coming from the 6th century BCE is literary fiction intended to impress its readers with the supposed accuracy of its foreknowledge of the next several hundred years. (Source: Who wrote the Gospels, Randel Helms)

6) What combination of animals were taken into the ark? How long was the flood event? What type of bird was sent out by Noah?

Two of a Kind:

Genesis 7: 7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

Genesis 7: 8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,

Genesis 7: 9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
Genesis 7: 15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

Seven of a Kind:

Genesis 7: 2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

Genesis 7: 3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.


The Forth Days Flood Account

Genesis 7: 4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
Genesis 7: 12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
Genesis 7: 17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
Genesis 8: 6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:


The One Hundred and Fifty Days Flood Account

Genesis 7: 24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 8: 3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.

Genesis 8: 4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

Genesis 8: 5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

What kind of bird (raven or dove) was sent out?


Genesis 8: 7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.

Genesis 8: 8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

Genesis 8: 9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

Genesis 8: 10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;

Genesis 8: 11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

Genesis 8: 12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.


7) Which of these dates is likely to be the date of Jesus' birth; before 4BCE or after 6CE?

Matthew claims Jesus was born in the reign of Herod the Great, who died in 4 BCE. Luke claims Jesus was born during the census conducted by Quirinus the governor of Syria. But Quirinius was not governor until 6 CE, a 10 year gap. So when was jesus born?

8-) Who were the administrative rulers of Syria in the 1st century CE?

The Romans

9-) How did Judas Iscariot died?

He either hung himself as in one account of stabbed himself and burst open his guts, as in another account.

10-) When was Jesus crucified? On the day of passover or the day before passover?

One bible account says the day of passover, while another says the day of passover.

11-) Are rulers of countries ordained by God?

Romans 13 says the rulers of countries are ordained by God. So God has got to be held responsible for rulers like Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Sadam etc.

Another example of suffering imposed by the adhoc clerical authorities to deprive people of the joys of marriage and parenthood.

Celibacy in the Catholic church is a recent depraved imposition. All or most of the earliest church fathers and Popes where married and had countless illegitimate children.

You only have to study the historyof the Papacy to see the deprave nature of the Catholic authorities in the Midddle to Dark Ages.

Check out the book by the Catholic Priest, Peter De Rosa, "Vicars of Christ";
http://www.amazon.com/Vicars-Christ-Peter-Rosa/dp/184223000X/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208979219&sr=8-2

olabowale:
@Huxley: And before Suez Canal the whole of Middle east was and is still part of the Main African continent.

And just the other day, we say the whole of palestinian people spilling over into Egypt! I am sure Atheist and Agnostic education kind of took that one over your head.

And before then, we saw from history books the Crusaders with their Horses did not load themselves on ship/vessels to do their mass killings.

And before then we knew that Jesus ran to Egypt to escape the first wave of plotters on his life!

And before then Moses escaped to median people from Egypt. He also came back on land back to Egypt to confront the Pharaoh who perished in the sea. Come to think of it, if A/llah did not design a defeat for the arrogant Pharaoh and his army, Moses would not have chosen the path that will have to lead them into the sea.

And before then the whole story of Joseph and his family between Middle east and Egypt took the dry land path.

And before that Ibrahim did journey to Egypt from his middle east home.

And even in most recent time, the african great ones used to journey on foot and on animals to perform hajji. And all of these were before Canal.

How many evidences above? And you only asked for one. I guess you have enough to think about taking your Shahada unless you are arrogant.

How does any of the above non-sense show that the origin of mankind is Africa. All you just said was quote recent past events or old untestable (or unproveable) history and mythology. The oldest of the old event in the bible/k-ran is no more than 10000 years old.

olabowale:
@Huxley: You have proven my point exactly. Your complete denial of the existence of god will make my writing incomprehensible to you. And for M_nwankwo's cheapening of the power of God, by his partial belief of Him, but relegated Him to a human being is why he is at least head and shoulders above you in understanding.

Huxley, your essays could just be looked at as a pure waste of human resources. Unfortunately, your type dies of and in time what people remember them by is their deviance and their denial of God! If you are looking for followers, you will not find it here. But tell me, have you ever seen more than one mother carrying the pregnancy of the same child, in the same time? If it is impossible, thats how impossible all your hypothesis are!

Fortunately, this is something science can comment on. Science provide unimpeachable evidence that the origin of mankind is Africa, NOT the Arabian desert as the moronic desert dogmas suggest. Can you provide a single shred of evidence that suggest that your dogmas are right?

Paul explicitly said women should be silent in churches, unless you want to re-inrterpret Paul.

Would be nice to know which set of 10 Commandments you guys are fighting over? Exodus 20 or Exodus 34?

~Lady~:
I think you missed this part

You are right, I missed it. It would be nice if the pledge of marriage were changed to:

, for better or worse till death or SIN do us part.

~Lady~:
Have you heard of adultey? that is untrustworty, that is a way out. Murder or attempt of murder is a way out. A way out is if sin is or is to be committed.

Would you stay in a marriage if your partner was physically abusive to you? That is not adultery. But you have to stay for "better or worse" in the Christian notion of marriage, haven't you?

olabowale:
@M_Nwankwo: Your hypothesis about multipersons Adam and Eve as the parents of present mankind shows very clearly your complete lack of existence of God Almighty who is powerful beyond human comprehension. Let me digress and approach Huxley for a moment before I lump the two of you together.

@Huxley: Your hypothesis, also in the disbelieving that there is a single male called Adam and as his mate a single female called eve, shows your true nature about the existence of God.

For the two of you, you have clearly forgotten that there are living things which are Unicellular, yet they strive and reproduce. Yet, some of these are germs or bacterials which when they invade the body of human, the most intelligent of all that are on earth, it spells immediate doom. We are aware of what is called Ebola, arent we?

I often wonder how the pure evolutionists argue thebeginning of life, when there is materials on earth yet unknown? Or have they forgotten that knowledge is progressive and not everything known is completely understood, yet?

When we examine creation, I wonder how we find that species behave as predicted? Who provided the laws that each species predictively obeys? Who organises the behaviour of plants and animals, and make the food chain and ecology of creation continuance as predicted? How is it possible that we have not gotten another Adam and Eve cluster, as M._Nwankwo have stated, or a new set of apes or some premitive primate coming to become man, as suggested by Huxley?

All these theories, no hypothesis are more of mental chaos because of disbelief in God! In all history, we have have not found, completely different species copulating together and producing an offspring. We have all heard about the beastiality sexual practices, yet in all of these extreme behaviour, there has not been a single offspring produced!

Can the sperm of a man penetrates the Egg of anything, eg. dog and survive to produce an offspring? Let me make it easy for you guys, how about human and monkey or any of these so called "close human relatives?" And I am sur that the crazies among humans have thought about it. But they will not announce their failures to the rest of the world.

Just theorising without practical proof is empty statement. That what both of your groups have done. One denies God existence, and the other cheapened His awesomeness. I guess we will find out when we are at the point of death! Or can any of you delay it, even for a moment, when it is your turn?

Is there anything in the least bit comprehensible in the above? What a waste of gray cell, damage by religious dogmatism!

~Lady~:
There's this thing called "for better or for worse"

Should it broken because of illness, absolutely not. There's medical ways that can keep the man from getting HIV and allow them to have HIV free children.

I agree with the general sentiment, but just want to pick up on the "for better or for worse" comment. While I know that this is another subject, what if one partner was physically, mentally abusive and untrustworthy? Should they carry on in the relationship, no matter what "for better or for worse"?

This is a very naive question, but I think I get the gist. Allow me to re-phrase like this and see which side you fall one:

Should one break a relationship ( with spouse, friends, neighbours, colleagues etc) on grounds of illness?

Answering this question should throw more light on your specific question. Never mind the fact that one is (or not) a Christian.

How's that?

Pastor AIO:
Thanks so much for this link. I'm really enjoying reading them. I like Keith Augustine. He thinks along the same lines as I do. Even though I am an avowed Dualist. I'd like to post some thoughts on his essay at a later date but at the moment I'm just making my way through it. there's a lot of it.

Glad to learn you are reading and enjoying the site. BTW what is a Dualist?

Pastor AIO:
Dude, I think you should disregard them. After all everyone else is!

What is the criteria for disregarding one rather than the other? Are you saying that those people who god killed for touching the Ark of the Covenant would have lost their lives over something that would later be disregarded by subsequent generations? What a waste?

JeSoul:
*shaking my head*
you don't have to pretend with me and act like you actually and really care and want to know. The 10 commandments and plain and obvious for all to see. As I said, even the secular minds at wikipedia did a great job of listing them and giving the history behind it. There is no controversy anywhere so stop trying to fan a fire that was never lit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments

I am NOT pretending, far from it. You know my other pseudonyms(therationa, tpaine).

What we now generally accept as the 10C have essentially been established by tradition rather than analysis. So it is no surprise the Ex20 is given preference over Ex34. The question I am asking is why this is so, when clearly Ex34 are a replacement of Ex20. Did the people who lost their lives over the Ark do so in vain. What was the purpose of securing the Ex34 10C in the Ark and in the Holy of Holies, if it would only be ignored by modern day believers?

JeSoul:
huxley,
we all know who you really are. . . christians know what the 10 commandments are, OLAADEGBU already posted them, so stop trying to disrupt the thread. If you're still confused here's wikipedia, even they know what the ten commandments are.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments

What should we do with those commandments in Exodus 34 then? Disregard them? Mind you, these were the commandments in the Holy of Holies.

This is a valid philosophical argument. Scientifically, it is even more crucial that there exist sufficient genetic variation in a breeding population otherwise the population would suffer tremendous genetic diseases and abnormalities. This has been very well studied in the Jewish and Indian communities where the prevalence of some genetic diseases have been ascribed to the marrying of very close relatives.

In the animal kingdom, this problem also is well reported. The leopard population has very low levels of genetic variation, resulting the very high mortality of leopard cubs. In fact, it has been estimated that leopard are very close to the brink of extinction, not for their low numeric population but for their low genetic variation.

If the human race had originated only from two identical individuals (noting that Eve was produced from the same genetical material as Adam), there would have been little or no variation. Resulting in very high mortality in their offsprings. There chances of surviving thousands of years would have been almost zero.

Which commandments should we be debating about; those in Exodus 20 or those in Exodus 34? I think it is most important to establish this first before we can move the debate forward.

To save you guys some time, I have taken the liberty to list them here:

The REAL Ten Commandments (Exodus 34) are ,




1. "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:" (Exodus 34:14)

2. "Thou shalt make thee no molten gods." (Exodus 34:17)

3. "The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt." (Exodus 34:18)

4a. "All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male." (Exodus 34:19)

4b. "But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty." (Exodus 34:20)

5. "Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest." (Exodus 34:21)

6. "And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end." (Exodus 34:22)

7. "Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel." (Exodus 34:23)

8. "Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning." (Exodus 34:25)

9. "The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God." (Exodus 34:26)

10. "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk." (Exodus 34:26)

Some more important commandments from Exodus 34;

24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the LORD your God.

25 "Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning.

26 "Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. "Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk."

27 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."

Never mind about the Catholic commandments. Which version of the 10 commandments should one observe: those given in Exodus 20, or those given in Exodus 34?

I would argue that those given in Exodus 34 should take precedence over the Exodus 20 commandments. Ex34 were the replacements of the Ex20 commandments, after Moses had smashed the Ex20 set. God ordered Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant and place the Ex34 commandments therein. So these were the commandments that were observed and revered by the Jews. In fact, Ex34 commandments in the Ark were so "important" that God would strike people dead who so much as touch the Ark.

Now, why are there discrepancies between the Ex20 and Ex34 commandment? Did god forgot what he had given Moses in the first set of commandments? Had he lost his mind?

Remember, never try to cook a baby goat in its mothers milk, or you would be violating one of god's commandments.

Walter kaufmann, http://www.amazon.com/Critique-Religion-Philosophy-Walter-Kaufmann/dp/0691020019/ref=sr_1_131?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208547042&sr=1-131

Clue: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113449.0.html

Xvalier:
Hello all,

I would like to start by saying that SCIENCE neither originates nor perpetuates any law, life process, matter or rule (force of gravity, seasons, sun rise and sun set, solar system, etc) that happens in life, a much greater Personality is resposible for that. You only need to look at the human body function to know a designer was at work, not an explosion somewhere, you only need to know how close the Earth is to the black hole, and yet not sucked into it to know there is a Hand behind it. Science merely observes, demonstrates, and utilizes what is already in existence.

I find it alarming that one can confidently tell me what happened 2000 millions years based on some fallible human theory but will not believe the historical truth of Bible scriptures. Over and over again, science comes back to align with what scripture says. Were it not for the Bible, a civilization called the Hitites would never have been known about, a recent archeological discovery in the last century only just discovered this site, but scriptures spoke of them thousands of years ago.

Where the Bible is not a history book, it's historical account remain absolutely accurate.

Christianity does not inhibit anyone from thinking, on the contrary, you can debate and question anything you see in scripture, if you are objective enough, you will find answers.

For Tpaine, I see you have a complete messed up theology about how sin came into being, you do not even understand the Angelic conflict, you do not even know the Salvation work of Christ, it's effect on humanity. I bet you would tell me sooner or later that evil comes from a particular chromosones in certain people's DNAs.

I will gladly go through your questions one by one.

Truth, objective Reality, cannot be evaluated by empiriscim (what you hear, taste, see, feel or touch), neither can Rationalism (works of Plato, Socraties, ), a third concept of perception comes into being, it is called FAITH, The believe and content of what is believed, the Scriptures), Heb 11:3 , For by Faith, scriptures (what is believed), we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Just answer this one question, giving biblical as well as other historical references;

7) Which of these dates is likely to be the date of Jesus' birth; before 4BCE or after 6CE?

Check this one out: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113449.0.html

Let us assume that there are five houses of different colors next to each other on the same road. In each house lives a man of a different nationality. Every man has his favorite drink, his favorite brand of cigarettes, and keeps pets of a particular kind.

1. The Englishman lives in the red house.
2. The Swede keeps dogs.
3. The Dane drinks tea.
4. The green house is just to the left of the white one.
5. The owner of the green house drinks coffee.
6. The Pall Mall smoker keeps birds.
7. The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhills.
8. The man in the center house drinks milk.
9. The Norwegian lives in the first house.
10. The Blend smoker has a neighbor who keeps cats.
11. The man who smokes Blue Masters drinks bier.
12. The man who keeps horses lives next to the Dunhill smoker.
13. The German smokes Prince.
14. The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
15. The Blend smoker has a neighbor who drinks water.

The question to be answered is: Who keeps fish?

cgift:
huxley? your questions will become very boring. Cant you open a thread for each one of them?

cgift,

To help you make your mind, why don't you look ate Question 10.

Question (10) was discussed here https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112557.msg1952665#msg1952665

cgift:
huxley? your questions will become very boring. Cant you open a thread for each one of them?

I have already got many threads dealing with some of these questions. I raised under the pseudonyms therationa, tpaine. Here is a sample. You decide which one to take:

=====================================================================================================

Some of my other threads


The Dangers Of Religious Fundamentalism To Intellectualism
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=110955.msg1929006#msg1929006

Danger! Religion May Damage Your Intelligence And Your Mind If Not Your Wealth
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115458.0.html

What Are Jesus's Core Moral Teachings And Which Are Unique To Him
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-118622.0.html

The Theory Of Evolution Refuted? The No-witness Argument
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-118701.0.html

Which Christianity? Pauline Or Jamesian
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-117735.0.html

Jesus, The Law And The Death Penalty
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-118541.0.html

With God On Our Side: God-inspired Violence - The Christians
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-118563.0.html

Speaking In Tongues: Is It Real Language Or Garrulous Babble?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-118036.0.html

Capital Punishment, Religiousity And Secularism
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-118613.0.html

Don't Know Much About Evolution?: Watch Dr Kenneth Miller Make It Simple
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-116650.0.html

The Theory Of Evolution Refuted? The No-witness Argument
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-118701.0.html

Can One Embrace Evolution And Maintain Christian (or Other Religious) Belief
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-118684.0.html

Which Ten Commandments?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115811.0.html#msg1998588

Jesus's Doctrine Of Passive Non-resistance To Evil
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115745.0.html

Does Anyone Not Know What The Permian–triassic Extinction Event Is ?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115553.0.html

What Are Spiritual Truths?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115666.0.html#msg1996318

Road To Damascus Incident: Paul's Account
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115689.0.html#msg1996608

Noah, Kangaroos, Sloth, Polar Bear And Panda In A Wooden Boat
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115589.0.html#msg1994984

Resurrection Accounts In The Gospel: Reconciliation Wanted
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115582.0.html

Does Jesus Know What Causes Sin? Thank Goodness He Doesn't.
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115292.0.html

The Dreadful Plight Of Apostasy In The Bible
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115114.0.html

Is The European Union Prophesied In The Bible? Is It The Anti-christ?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115053.0.html

Jesus And The Old Laws
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115190.0.html

What Can Be Said To Be Definitely Known About Jesus?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-114935.0.html

Origin Of Christianity And Diabolical Mimicry In Anticipation
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113860.0.html

Hell Past, Hell Present; Which Do You Prefer?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113947.0.html#msg1971669

The Sexual Act And Christian Teaching
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-114332.0.html

Scientific Rationalism, Reason And Faith: Which Produces Systematic Knowledge?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-114253.0.html

On The Prophesy Of The Virgin Birth Of Jesus, Part 2:
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113676.0.html

On The Historical Reliability Of The Bible
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-114215.0.html

When And From Where Did Jesus Ascend Into Heaven
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113519.0.html

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-114023.0.html#msg1972418
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-114023.0.html#msg1972418

When Was Jesus Born?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113449.0.html

On The Prophesy Of The Virgin Birth Of Jesus [/b]13012dg
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113342.0.html#msg1963529

[b] Was Jesus The Prophesied Messiah? Let's Look At The Evidence.
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113303.0.html

What Are Your Chances Of Being Saved?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113283.0.html

Who Wrote The Gospels And When Were They Written?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113277.0.html#msg1962589

God Selects The Rulers Of Countries; G W Bush, Sadam, Pol Pot, Abacha, Hitler
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113186.0.html#msg1961537

Cannibalism In The Bible: Det 28:53-57, Lev 26:29, Jer 19:9, Ezek 5:10, Lam 4:10
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113181.0.html#msg1961343

What Are The Core Tenets (doctrines, Value And Virtues) Of Christainity?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-112990.0.html

Faith-healer And Evangelist, Maurice Cerullo, Investigated
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113871.0.html

What Fate For Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Constantine And Tomás De Torquemada?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-112997.0.html#msg1958617

Is The Doctrine Of Trinity Biblical? The Johannine Comma
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-112865.0.html#msg1957266

On The Authenticity Of The New Testament, Part 2
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-112848.0.html

How Is Salvation Achieved?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-112833.0.html

Only For Those Who Know Their Bibles And Some History: Who Was Jesus?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112697.msg1954632#msg1954632

Only For Those Who Know Their Bibles: Old Testament Stories
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112679.msg1954426#msg1954426

Human Sacrifice In The Bible: Lev 27: 29 & Judges 11
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112584.msg1953340#msg1953340

Please, Please, Please: Christians - Read Read Read Your Bibles
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112578.msg1953311#msg1953311

When Was Jesus Crucified?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112557.msg1952665#msg1952665

On Conversion To A Religion (christianity Or I-slam)
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112547.msg1952353#msg1952353

Faith-healers And Tele-evangelists
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112398.msg1950528#msg1950528

Where Did Sin Originate?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112377.msg1950291#msg1950291

For The Non-beleivers Only, 1
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112262.msg1948957#msg1948957

Would Christains Be Criminals And Offenders If They Were Not Christians?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112259.msg1948919#msg1948919

On The Authenticity Of The New Testament, Part 1
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112240.msg1948631#msg1948631

Has Atheism Got Principle? No
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112216.msg1948180#msg1948180

It Is Biblical To Have Sex (and Lots Of It) Before Marriage
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112139.msg1946940#msg1946940

Should The Old Testament Laws Be Observed In The Modern Era?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112114.msg1946682#msg1946682

Founding A State or Nation On Religious Principles
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=112086.msg1946268#msg1946268

Great Books About Non-belief
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=111928.msg1943935#msg1943935

Who Are The Self-declared Non-believer? Resources For You
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=111806.msg1942137#msg194111quc02137

Beware of a Simplistic Interpretation of Jesus's 2nd Coming Passages
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=111677.msg1939992#msg1939992

What Is The Evidence That The Bible Is The Word Of God?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-113161.0.html#msg1960928

Archbishop Cause Furore Over Sharia Law In The Uk
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=111645.msg1939155#msg1939155

Eminent Christian Scientist (francis Collins) Explains The Evolution Of Humans
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=111482.msg1936158#msg1936158

Please, Help Me Out With Your Knowledge Of The Bible
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=111474.msg1936099#msg1936099

What lasting Benefits Did Jesus Bring Into The World?
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115382.0.html#msg1992157

The Catholic Doctrine, Original Sin And Evolution
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-115525.0.html#msg1994039

Why Biology Is So Important To Our Modern World
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=111466.msg1935975#msg1935975

Genesis Vs Genetics
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=111227.msg1932655#msg1932655

Please, Help Me Out With Your Knowledge Of The Bible
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-111474.0.html

Jesus Genealogy
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=111222.msg1932616#msg1932616

£300 (three - Hundred Pound Sterling) Essay Competition
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=111143.msg1931508#msg1931508

Beware Of Religious Fundamentalism In Your University Campuses
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=110965.msg1929160#msg1929160

====================================================================================================

Here they are again, in case you failed to see them on the main post:

1) In what chronological order did god create the following artifacts; woman, plants, animals, man and the sun?

2) The commandments are given in Exodus 20 and Exodus 34. Which version contains the following commandments. "Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk".

3) Which Book of the Old Testament contains the following words; "Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death." ?

4) Which OT character sacrifice his daughter to the Lord, after the Lord help him defeat his enemies?

5) When was the book of Daniel written?

6) What combination of animals were taken into the ark? How long was the flood event? What type of bird was sent out by Noah?

7) Which of these dates is likely to be the date of Jesus' birth; before 4BCE or after 6CE?

8-) Who were the administrative rulers of Syria in the 1st century CE?

9-) How did Judas Iscariot died?

10-) When was Jesus crucified? On the day of passover or the day before passover?

11-) Are rulers of countries ordained by God?

12-) After Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, how long was it before he went to Jerusalem to see the other disciples?

13-) Are women saved through childbirth?

14-) Is it OK for women to braid their hair?

15-) How many people will be saved on the day of Judgement?

16-) Who are the Sanhedrin ?

17-) Which of the following historians are you familiar with; Josephus, Philo, Eusebius, Tacitus?

18-) Which of the word in the NT did Jesus personally write? How did the apostle get to know Jesus's word in the Garden of Getsemane given that they were all asleep when Jesus was pronouncing those words at a distance?

19-) Was Jesus related to David via his mother Mary or his father Joseph?

20-) When did Christianity become the religion of the Roman empire and which religion did it replace as the official state religion?

21-) What is the "abomination of the desolation" and its contextual traditions?

22-) Did the Apostle Paul ever meet Jesus in the flesh?

23-) Would Jesus have been an observant of the Judaic laws (dietary, hygiene, sabbath etc)?

24-) Would Jesus have been circumcised?

25-) How is Jesus' portrayal of Hell similar or different from the Old Testament (Judaic) portrayal of Hell?

26-) When did Jesus say he would return ?

27-) In which book of the New Testament did Jesus say the following "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near."

28-) When was the first Church Council held and under whose auspices?

29-) Do you know any passages that are currently classified by bible scholars as "interpolations"?

30-) Where about in the bible is the concept of Trinity expounded?

31-) Where in the bible are the following mentions unicorn, dragon, dinosaurs, satyr? Which of these beasts are real and which mythological?

32-) Are there any fulfilled prophecies? Are there any failed prophecies?

cgift:
tpaine, redsun, imhotep, its an interesting topic you guys got here. I am a fervent believer in this fact that science was created to understand God the more. Science does not in anyway invalidate God, rather, God can invalidate science since so many things are beyond scientific explanations. For starters, why is it that the smallest unit of the human body, the cell, is so complex and difficult for science to comprehend its creation after all this while?

Of a truth, scientists know the components/consituents of a cell, yet, they are unable to bring all those components together in a lab to form a cell. Why? The day i will stop seeing atheists and no-God proponents as stupid is when they are able to create a single and simple cell.

For outright unbelievers and full atheists, why don't you ask yourself whether the statue of liberty in America came their by accident or was formed from a big-bang or whether it was created by a sculptor? If your answer is that it was created by design, why do you look at the abysmally complex world and they conclude it came by accident or that it was not created? Look at the faces of past American presidents on that Mount in America? Did erosion fashion their heads to now look exactly like the faces of past presidents or it was by design? Anything that makes sense happens by design not by accident.

May be a little quiz for my evolutionists friends: have you asked yourselves when you as a human will eventually turn into say a lizard? After how many billlion years? What will you evolve into in the future, a tree?, a goat? i need to know? When will evolution stop and what will orchestrate its halting?

If you cannot prove what you believe in and then you start referring things to hundreds of millions and billions of years ago, then you must be simply deceiving yourselves. Where you there?


Let me correct an impression. Christianity does not surpress gifts, talents and abilities. it rather sharpens them. It does not suppress freedom of expression and leaves room for good discourse. Its only the Catholic church that does not leave room for intellectual discourses and we have since on this forum declared them as non-Christ-teachings-people. In Pentecostal churches, you can question and you are challenged deeply to rational and intellectual discourse. great inventors and discovers and scientists have been christians and no doubt attributed their feats to a firm belief in God. so what are you talking about reasoning suppression? May be the great religion allows for reasoning subjugation also.

Thanks be to God, we have a well documented history of the mission of Jesus Christ to the world. Facts have it that his existence changed the world. You will understand him better when he comes to make his abode with you. cheers!

Would be interesting to see your answers to those questions. Give it a go. Don't shy away from them

The Pope Dies and Goes to Heaven

The Pope dies and, naturally, goes to heaven. He's met by the reception committee and, after a whirlwind tour is told that he can enjoy any of the myriad recreations available.

He decides that he wants to read all of the ancient original text of the Holy Scriptures, and spends the next eon or so learning the languages. After becoming a linguistics master, he sits down in the library and begins to pore over every version of the Bible, working back from the most recent "Easy Reading" to the original script.

All of a sudden there is a scream in the library. The angels come running to him, only to find the Pope huddled in a chair, crying to himself, and muttering, "An 'R'! They left out the 'R'”.

God takes him aside, offering comfort and asks him what the problem is. After collecting his wits, the Pope sobs again, "It's the letter 'R', the word was supposed to be CELEBRATE."

Just before the animals are locked away for the night, a keep in a zoo notices that their star chimpanzee has a copy of the Bible in one hand and the "Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin in the other hand.

In the morning, as the keeper comes to set the animals free, he notices that the same chimpanzee is still studiously reading both books. As he walks past the chimpanzee's enclosure, the chimpanzee takes a look at him and says "Am I my keeper's brother?"