₦airaland Forum

banmee:
I don't have to be a christian to know that you should not commit murder, steal, covet someone else's wife, lie, etc. It is basic common sense. Religion has done more harm than good over the course of history and this is a fact. The hyporcricy in religion is astounding to say the least.

I keep pointing you to Christianity, you keep dragging me back to religion. Religion has caused more harm than good, I totally agree with you. But Christianity in its purest form is absolutely divine. Now you say its common sense for you not to lie, cheat, etc. May I ask you, who gave you this moral code? How was this common sense implanted in you?

Robynwelo1:
This made sense a lot. It is true that every little piece, every quantum is important and the causal effect is important whether large or small.
But this does not have to do with anything discussed here, you are just deviating. Christianity whether you like it or not, still remains just one part of the society and your 'God' still remains just one of countless gods. Everyone, I mean everyone holds their god to high esteem, everyone believing theirs is superior, does that make it true?
This is what is causing division in the society and I call it bullshit.
God( i mean your own) doesn't want to be tested yet he is testing his people. Why would he want to condemn those that do not believe in him regardless of if they are good people. Why doesn't he just reveal himself to everybody and stop the crisis? why does he let his people and other good people suffer? There are so many questions to be answered.
The bottom line is he doesn't exist. Also you have a really myopic mind to think the universe must have been created. Because we exist then someone must have caused it. LOL! why not SOME PEOPLE? Something? Well every other religion seems to think their god created them, maybe it's a bunch of gods that did the magic together and we are down here fighting... Jeez, what a book can cause!

I think your God should reveal himself to everyone and stop all this confusion. He seems to like a lot of drama.

At first you say, my post made a lot of sense and I went "yippee! Someone who supports me" and then I read on and it just goes downhill from there. So where do I start?
The fact people claim to have serve the real god doesn't meant there is no real God. When there is a complex math problem, majority of us might fail it. But it doesn't mean there is no answer. It just means we have to be taught the right answer. Now you say this what causes division? I agree with you. Religion causes a lot of division but as I keep banging, Christianity is not a religion. You want division to end? Embrace Christianity. TRUE CHRISTIANITY because we are taught to love our enemies. To be at peace with them. Christ died for people who didn't even love him. We follow Christ and that is why even though people from the other religion keep killing Christians, true Christianity teaches us to show them love and not discriminate.
Now you say God doesn't want to be tested. Well, ya! That's why He's God. He has absolutely nothing to prove to you. If you create a computer, are you bound to the computer's will or is the computer bound to yours? God is not the one on trial, we are the ones on trial.
You want God to and evil in the world? Now there is a problem with ending evil. What do you qualify as evil? See, everything is Black or White. There is no middle ground. It's either good or evil. You want God to end evil? Then we are all going to die because everyday we commit evil. Whether it is as small as lying or as big as rapping or killing. Evil is evil. But of course, evil will end on the last day when Christ comes back.
The whole simple rule that brought up this debate. Love your neighbor as yourself. Do you know if we all followed this simple rule, there will be no boko haram or Isis. No starving children on the road, etc.
And finally. God isn't condemning all of us to hell. Hell is our choice. Like I said, its Black or white. Hell is made for the agents of Satan and Satan himself. If you are not an agent of God, then you are an agent of Satan. Black or white. It is your choice. Its either you get on your knees and say "Father, let your will be done" or you refuse to kneel and God tells you "your will be done".
You lose absolutely nothing in being a Christian. The teachings of Jesus (and his apostles), unadulterated holds the key to every problem in life. Stop looking at charlatans under the guise of men of God. Look at Jesus and your life will be so much better.
Modified: forgot your point on the universe. ERM...are you saying the universe has no beginning?

banmee:
Guy, the teachings of the bible is based on ignorance. The bible tells you that a rainbow is a sign from God to remind him not to destroy the world again meanwhile we now know that is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. Because of it's teachings, Nigerians condemn anything that they do not understand. Left to people like you we would all still be living in caves.

And there you go. You pick one portion of the Bible and beat on it. The rainbow might be as a result of what you just posted (I am not a science person) but how does that stop that from being a sign of God's promise? You put a ring on a Lady as a sign of your love, does that change how the ring came about? Let me put this straight. A rainbow is as a result of meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky blah blah blah. But it is still a sign of God's promise to Noah. You do understand what a sign is right?
And no. Left for people like me, we won't live in a cave. My Bible tells me to gain knowledge. Expects me to grow in wisdom. Christianity doesn't take you backward, it takes you forward.
Still waiting for you to give me a teaching of Jesus or his apostles that doesn't agree with your moral standing. If you can't find one, then please point your gun at other religions.

realmindz:
You for example may think the world revolve around you, your everyday life, the people you meet, your colleagues, the people who look up to you, friends and your family are all in your life circle and that's where your significance lies.
When you die, your closest ones feel your departure most, then distant friends, colleagues, neighbours etc depending on your relationships. A man in your neighborhood may feel your departure less important. At the bigger picture, a man in a village far away in China does not even know you exist.

That's the way humans exist, we live in our small world thinking we are the most important, when we occupy less than 0.0000......01% of the universe.

Same with your religion, if you think your Yahweh is the true god of the universe, then the supposed god of the universe sent his only begotten son to die in a small village in a very tiny insignificant portion of the universe after some 14 billion years of creation. To die for humanity? you are far too arrogant

Hmmmm. And you keep skipping around the Bush. Are humans insignificant in this universe or not. Yes or no?
Now let us talk about insignificance for a moment. You mentioned Jesus dying in an insignificant village. First, might I point out, Jesus didn't die for the universe (you keep mentioning the fact it is 14 billion years old), He died for humans. Let's talk about insignificance for a moment.
A British soldier Tandey saved a man's life in world war 1 at an insignificant spot in this big mighty world. That man was Hitler and and over 60million people were killed by his actions.
Muslims claim only an insignificant number of them are radicals and yet the mighty world shakes at the threat of Isis, The Taliban and all other Islamic groups including your Boko Haram.
Someone somewhere decided to have sex in an insignificant village in Afghanistan and guess who the child was? Bin Laden.
What point i'm I trying to make? Just cuz Jesus was born in a small village called Bethlehem doesn't negate the fact that he died for u and I. It doesn't change anything. Big things start small. And probably at an insignificant spot where no one is even paying attention.

banmee:
No. He had the nerve to think that was better than a muslim. They are both bad. Historically, christians have done far worse than muslims.

I am glad you say "historically". I wonder why we have to keep pointing this out to you guys. Those people who have done bad things as Christians do not represent Christianity. Its simple. You want to judge a faith, judge it by its teachings not by the actions of people who claim to be in that faith. Take up a Bible. If you can fault any of the teachings of Jesus or his followers, then you can't fault Christianity. Unfortunately, same can't be said of the Koran.

banmee:
My comment is a response to someone else's.

In response to someone who condemned the actions of Muslims and you had to drag Christianity into it. How nice.

realmindz:
It's pure arrogance to think the universe revolves around humans. Your age in the universe and the portion you occupy says a lot.


However, I am pleased that you can say human came into existence 2 million years ago as against the bible's claim of 6000 years

I said, according to your evolution theory. Giving you the benefit of the doubt that that nonsense is actually correct. I never said the universe revolves around humans. But from your argument, humans are insignificant in this universe. There are two different things. And oh! By the way, the universe revolves around God. Something cannot come out of nothing. It has never been scientifically proven! So someone somewhere created this universe and this universe revolves around Him. And He is God.

illitrate:
Stop wasting his time, I am doctor et. PhD, B.sc Ond, Waec, Neco, Jamb. This man is suffering from cadiovascullar collapse. Take him to the synagogue

banmee:
Same with Christianity. Familiarize yourself with history and you will find that Christians did worse things back in the day compared to what isis has done so far. #Spanishinquisition for example. Religion is a plague that needs to be eradicated. How a grown man or woman can believe in angels is just amazing to say the least.

Ah! Nairaland atheist always looking for a way to attack Christianity. But this post isn't about us. Its about the Muslims. Stay on topic.

realmindz:
Like it or not, your christianity is insignificant to the universe, therefore it is a mere religion.

Let's take a look at the bigger picture, the universe is about 14 billion years old. Your religion is about 2000 years old. Pls what's the % of 2000 out of 14 billion. So tell me, if your religion was that important, why wasn't it established in the period of time the universe had been?

The did universe just 2000 years ago realised it needed Christianity/Islam?

The universe has no need for your religion neither does it care whether it exists or not, sorry bro.


btw, ignorance is bliss, so enjoy

I can't believe you typed this with a straight face. The universe is 14 billion years old, according to your evolution theory, humans came into existence some 2 million years ago. That's insignificant compared to 14 billion years of the world's existence. Do you mean to tell me that humans aren't important because of when they came into existence?
By the way, 14 billion years is nothing compared to the Beginning and the end which is God. Ignorance is Bliss my friend. Enjoy it.

realmindz:
it really got me thinking how this could be better explained for you to understand.

Pls try to enlarge your circle of reasoning and realise that the world is too large to revolve around your belief.
Look at life on a bigger picture, religion is an emotional bondage. The universe is too big for your religion

You see, that's your problem. Everything revolves around my God. You can't ask me to think outside my God, it's like asking me to remove my brain before thinking. No matter how large I enlarge my reasoning, it is still within the scope of my God.
You are right though. Religion is an emotional bondage. That's why Christianity is not a religion. While religion keeps you in all kinds of bondage, Christianity sets you free.

hopefulLandlord:
The part you don't get in that analogy is that it makes no different to me if various historical/legendary figures existed or not. Most certainly ancient history is not accurately recorded. It's hard enough to sort out truth from exaggeration in events in our own time that we have access to more information let alone events that (supposedly) happened millennia ago BUT I'm not going to have an existential crisis if it turns out that Julius Caesar/Confucius/Alexander the great never existed. I'd just shrug and go on about my day. But if there were proof that Jesus never existed you'd freak completely out.


they are basically the same thing!

here's the thing, these so-called wise words have a way of getting refined overtime and layering upon one another over the years and (usually) getting better and better as humans learn from trials and errors when it comes to all aspects of life

to prove this let's look at the timeline of the wise words

first ever documented version of it was the story if the eloquent peasant which dates between 2040 – 1650 BC with the words "Now this is the command: Do to the doer to make him do."

Confucius, Mozi and Laozi then gave their own version around 500BC

"Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself." — Confucius (500 BC)

"If people regarded other people's families in the same way that they regard their own, who then would incite their own family to attack that of another? For one would do for others as one would do for oneself." — Mozi (400 BC)

"Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss." — Laozi (500 BC)

Greek Isocrates version is also pretty interesting

"Do not do to others that which angers you when they do it to you." – Isocrates (436–338 BC)

notice how each of these versions of the golden rule predates Jesus himself

let's stop the etymology here and look at the bible which you read very well I believe, if you read the bible you'll see that what Jesus said predated Jesus himself!

read Leviticus 19:18

"'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

take a look at the bolded very well

this shows that Jesus infact HAS NO GENUINE CLAIM TO THE GOLDEN RULE, it had been existing before Jesus was born and Jesus just repeated it

Sir, you just shot yourself on the foot. Leviticus predates all the philosophers you mentioned. And as we believe Jesus to be God, we believe He gave that rule to Moses. So from the Christian standpoint, Jesus has the original claim to that rule.
Secondly, please correct me if I am wrong. But "Do unto others what you want others to do unto you" is centered Karma not love? I should do good to hopefullandlord so someone else will do good to me. I won't want to so evil to you for fear that someone will do the same for me.
But let us look at "Love thy neighbor as thyself". I believe, correct me if I am wrong, that this is centered around Love which Jesus came to preach and live. I won't want to hurt HopefulLandlord not because I am scared of someone else hurting me, but because I wouldn't do that to myself. That is the sacrificial love Jesus came to preach and show to us. And I think that is a little deeper.

Xevioso:
Follow the teaching, not the teacher; Saddam Hussein taught his kids to brush their teeth.

I have to say I laughed at you post. Thanks for the advice tho. But the thing is, Jesus taught it and lived it also. For example when they came to arrest him and peter cut off the ear of a soldier, he healed that soldier. A man who came to arrest Him! So let me ask you. Why do you think Jesus life is not to be emulated? Did He do anything evil during His time on earth?

hopefulLandlord:
can you elucidate on what you mean by "both rules"?

OK. Let me break it down for you. You want to tell me Confucius was the first to give the golden rule. Fine. Let me agree with u. But do you know that over four centuries had passed after the death of Confucius before his first biography was written? And you know how many sources we have of Confucius today? Three. For Jesus, we have 27. Yet many of you nairaland atheist will accept the existence of Confucius over that of Jesus. But that's another topic entirely. Now to the golden rule. Let us assume Confucius was the one who came up with it. He said do unto others what you want others to do unto you. Jesus said same in Luke 6:31 and Matthew 7:12. But that isn't even the rule I gave in my post. The rule I gave is found in Mark 12: 31 and Matthew 22:39 which says, love thy neighbour as thyself. Now I ask again. Do you think these two rules mean the same thing?

hopefulLandlord:
Jesus was NOT the first to give such a rule bro

Ha! Doesn't change the fact he gave the rule. And more people follow Jesus than they follow the other guy. But seriously, let me ask you a simple question. You are a bright man, no doubt. Do you think both rules actually mean the same thing?

Xevioso:
Rejoice, treat others with the respect and dignity with which you wish them to treat you, have a happy life.

But...Jesus gave that exact same rule. Love your neighbors as you love yourself. Are you saying I should follow Jesus' teachings??

Xevioso:
He still doesn't exist.

Are you serious? So i uave been lied to all my life? what do I do now?

dalaman:
Why are you ranting? I just simply made an observation. I actually find it absure that muslims hold such beliefs. Some of them truly believe that Mohammed appears inside the bible and their clerics try to twist the bible to say that. The Islamic cleric I listened to said the actual Hebrew word was Mohammed and ye even pronounced it. I know many cleric tell a lot of lies in order to promote their religion all the time.

Actually, they say Mohammed is the comforter Jesus was talking about. Mohammed = Comforter? That is just absurd.

analice107:
I watched a YouTube clip of Zakir Naik. Someone asked him a question, he took 5minutes in answering the question, and in that 5minutes, he told 20 lies. An Ex Muslim from Pakistan, Nabeel Qureshi caught him lying 20 times in one response and in 5 minutes. Zakir Naik lies makes satan look like a child.

But, do the muslims realize he lies and still take him serious? That man can lie. He is so fast in talking that you don't know you'll think he is good, but the man quotes nonexisting authors to back up his lies, he misquotes and twist peoples comments to mean what he wants. The demons inhabiting that man are many.

Naik is a joke.

analice107:
Guy, the question is, Why is allah who should be god acting like a domestic servant to muhamad?

Who controls who?

What allah says to others, when it gets to muhammed, allah will adjust his rules to suit Muhammed.

Is.allah afraid of Muhammad? Or, is muhammad also god?

Don't run away from the main point, answer the questions.

Muhammed is the god of islam and allah is his apostle.

allah, Muhammad's errand boy.

David wood called him Muhammad's sock puppet.

dalaman:
Muslims truly believe that the bible mentions Mohammed but that the christians changed it during translation into the varoused versions of the bible.

I was listening to a muslim cleric preaching about it just 2 days ago.

And I wonder when this change happened. Why can't no one find the original manuscripts

kesmalindo:
you can always ask for the meaning

It doesn't matter what it means or not. We give them their respect, they give us ours. Even if we knew the meaning we can't say Amen because it is not in the name of Jesus.

kesmalindo:
As Muslims, we pray only in the name of Allah (God). We are not even allowed to pray in the name of Prophet Muhammad (S) let alone any other Prophet of God.
Hence, it is important for our Christian friends to understand that we wouldn't say 'Amen' when they pray for us 'In Jesus Name'. Only ignorant or hypocritic Muslims will say Amen to any name beside the name of God. Why? It is against everything that we believe as Muslims. Therefore, courtesy demands that you pray for a people in a way that does not sound disrespectful to them. If any Christian friend intentionally prays for me in Jesus Name, I will keep mum and continue as if he hadn't pray at all. If he challenges me for not saying amen, then I will feel very disrespected.
In the same way, a Muslim is also not expected to pray for a Christian in Allah's name because Christians only pray in Jesus name. To do otherwise means to disrespect their faith.
Since we all have the understanding of praying in God's name, it is best for all of us (Muslims and Christians) to pray ONLY in God's name in gatherings that have both Muslim and Christian attendance.
This is called mutual respect and understanding. It well help foster our relationships and understanding and our peaceful coexistence.

Well, I see your point. I belong to a gathering of both Christians and Muslims. When we meet, a Christian opens the meeting with a prayer and a Muslim closes it or vice versa. Christians pray in Jesus name (Jesus actually says no one goes to the father but through him and we are bound to obey) while Muslims pray in Arabic we don't even understand. We do have a mutual understanding and no one feels disrespected.

thesicilian:
First, for me it is God, not god.
Second, I feel pity for whoever insults my God because if they actually knew him, they would not do so.

Its "Him" not "him"

OtemAtum:
I have also compared Yahweh with a dog before and it is because it is a norm in the world. It is easy for a christian to compare Allah with poo. And it is easy for atheists to compare Yahweh with anything. It's all for the fun of it. Right from the ancient times, even the so-called great prophets male fun if other people's god. This reminds me of Elijah of the Neanderthal who was making fun of Baalim and his prophets. There is no god immuned from being ridiculed.

IMO, I think the matter of gods should be taken the same way we take football clubs. For example, as a Chelsea fan, it is allowed for me to make fun of Arsenal and Man utd if they don't make the top 4(sebi they also make fun of Chelsea last year when we didn't make top 9) . However, it should not affect my normal day to day relationship with the arsenal fans in real life. I think the spirit of sportsmanship should be introduced to religion. It makes a lot of sense.

I think it is wrong to compare people's love for their God with love for a football club. I am a Liverpool fan. I love Liverpool so much I can feel sad for a week if they lose. You mock Liverpool, I don't feel a thing (OK, I feel something but it's not that serious). You mock my God, I feel deeply hurt inside even though I never react in anyway. They are different sir. Love for God supercedes all.

OtemAtum:
Everybody is trying to prove that his own god is the greatest. The gods themselves don't intervene when you abuse the hell out of them, but humans are the ones getting emotionally hurt and bitter against those who mock their gods.

In a bid to make people stop mocking their gods, humans began to tell fearful stories of how their gods destroyed the people speaking against them with earthquakes, Thunder, flood, disasters, smelling mouths, death, famine, drought, etc. Well, these kinds of well-thought craftiness paid off in some cases, because the world is filled with 99% gullible people and 1% ingullible ones.


Here are some of the stories they made up to put the gullible in fear and submission:

1. Sango destroyed his antagonists with thunder when they said that he hanged himself.
2. Yahweh swallowed Koran, Dathan and Abiram up with an earthquake.
3. The Holy Spirit killed Ananias and Sapphira when they told a lie.
4. Eshu did this and that.
5. Yahweh smote the antagonists of David Oyedepo with smelly mouths.
6. Zeus did this and that.
7. Allah did this and that.
8. Baal did such and such

All those stories actually worked on the fearful and gullible of old and is still working on the present gullible people of our days. But some people like Luwabi, Socrates, Plato, Bongo, Otem Erectus, Cuenca, Albert Einstein and many others stood out in their own times, fearing no god and I count them worthy of deification. They saw God Almighty as one with them and not as an external evil being in the skies.

My advice to all religious folks, IF PEOPLE MAKE FUN OF YOUR god, don't be emotional about it. At least almost everybody mocks one god or the other, so far it is not their own. Elijah mocked Baalim. Some people mock Eshu laalu ogiri oko and they get angry when other people mock Yahweh their own god. Some people mock Allah lavishly, but when you mock their own, they go all emotional.



Davtosh, SirWere, Analice107, sirevee, Gboyee4fun, Jacksonville, Lepasharon, Hahn, HopefulLandlord, Realmindz, Prettmum, AnonyNymous, mrmister, joseff14

People have invested their entire life in a particular faith. How do you feel when someone mocks what you genuinely love? Just because you feel God doesn't exist does not mean others don't have personal relationship with Him. You can call it delusion but for them it is real. So I advise people not to mock anyone's God or belief but engage in intelligent debates (ya! It is possible to debate without being sly or trying to be funny).

PS: even when you mock God, you know the funny thing? He still loves you. Pay no mind to those who say He will punish you. Nah! He actually still loves you.

ginggerxy:
if not scam how can ss3 student preparing for SSCE not know how to speak English. The truth will come out one

You really shouldn't talk if you haven't been to the north. There are students in higher institutions here who can't speak English at all. These ones too wrote waec.

OLAADEGBU:
Amen. I happened to find a debate between Licona and Shibir Ally that you mentioned above. Is this the one you are referring to?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grDPJmb3gAs

This one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgUjaXHyBsw
David wood's debates with Shabir Ally is way more fun. David always ate him alive.

aminusanti:
My friend you r not here for any facts and I doubt much if you are reading what I was posting all these while. I just dnt know why u r deliberately ignoring n twisting words here!
U are not providing any proof to back ur claims and never attempt to answer my queries d (same old tricks).. I dnt have to go about xplaining things to u here bcus u are programmed to believe the way u are believing whether the proof is clear as day you wont believe...for any sincere xtian out there pls kindly differentiate these two tradition (sister of) that My Oga here is trying to explain

Sura 19:27-28

"O sister of Aaron, thy father was not a man of evil, nor your mother a woman unchaste!"
--

BIBLE > Mark 3:35
"Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother"

Lol. You see, I pay very little mind to muslims who quote the Bible because most of you quote it out of context. If I attempt to explain that passage to you, I will just open a Pandora's box and we will start to argue on the divinity of Jesus which I am trying to avoid. But have it in mind that that verse is absolutely different from the one quoted in the Koran. They aren't even close to having same meaning. And no! I am not programmed to believing one thing. It might surprise you but I have tried a lot of beliefs including Islam. I don't swallow everything I hear, I investigate my faith. And that investigation has led me to Christianity. The meaning of Koran means " recite", right? That's why you lot can really not understand the Bible. Cuz it takes a deeper understanding, something deeper than just reciting verses to understand. When you are ready my friend, I will show you the power of the gospel. But I have to commend your maturity here on Nairaland and I sincerely do admire you. I just wish you were more open minded.

adepeter26:
If you don't get the purpose of the thread, you wouldn't have continued with ya texts below. That shows point one of ya insincerity.

What truth? That you you use the deist god, to argue for the Christian god? Or that you jump from thread to thread sharing a link of ya post referencing a god without religion? Or that you use the lame argument of a god of the gap? What exactly are ya truths?

Exactly, same line always.

You haven't been sincere on many occasions. You hop from thread to thread spewing jargon.

Atheists are ignorant you say? Lol

Ohhh crying ebuka. :

Same way science would have kept quiet if they never researched about the etiology of malaria.

Buhahahahaha,,, you become an atheist when you fully understand the Bible.....

BTW, the Bible is no difference from comics of Harry potter

To be frank, 90 percent of nairaland atheists are ignorant. Most of them attack the person and not the issue at hand. They mock beliefs that people have invested their lives in and that is actually not fair. I have seen atheists i love and respect. People who will respect the person and his beliefs and still make their points intelligently. Unfortunately, you can't really find that on nairaland.
PS: the bolded just shows you are probably not very well informed.

I am a big fan of Qureshi and Wood. I have also watched the debate between Licona (he follows me on Twitter by the way ) and Shibir Ally (who I think is the most intelligent Muslim in the world). Watching that debate, I noticed Licona knew Shibir would try to discredit the Gospels and so he focused on evidence outside the gospels. Shibir didn't have answers to Licona's evidence and kept attacking the gospels. It was funny to watch. Any true Muslim who watches that debate would come to the truth.
On a side note, Shibir Ally seems like a really great guy. I have a soft spot for him and I pray he encounters Jesus.
Finally, I pray God heals Qureshi and makes him whole again. The world needs him.

naaija:
THREE PARADOXES OF CHRISTIANITY; why they exist, and how they can be resolved.

1. The Old Testament clearly forbids all images of God. Christians believe that Jesus is God, but most churches have images of Jesus right above the altar, on stained glass, statues, etc. How is it possible to reconcile this imagery with the Old Testament prohibition on such imagery?

2. The Old Testament clearly states that all souls will be resurrected and judged at the end of time (Judgment Day). And yet, most churches teach that the dead go immediately to their reward or punishment. If they are resurrected at Judgment Day, why the second judgment?

3. The Old Testament is rigorously monotheistic (and so is the Qu’ran). However, most Christians believe in a 3-in-1 deity called the “Trinity.” For this reason, most Jews and Muslims do not consider Christians to be true monotheists. Why does Christianity have this Trinity?

Historical origins and resolutions:

It is important to remember that Christianity arose from the intermixing of two very different cultures, Hebrew and Greek. All of the original Christian scriptures were written in Greek, so it is a mistake to ignore the influence of Greek culture and seek precedent only in the Hebrew text.

1. While the OT forbids images of God, the ancient Greeks not only permitted but encouraged such effigies. The combination of a culture which prohibits such iconography with a culture in which it abounds should be expected to produce an uncomfortable hybrid – and indeed it did. While verbally opposing “idols” (the Greek word for “image” is “idola”), most Christian churches turn around and promote images of Jesus. The origin of this paradox (hypocrisy?) is to be found in the blended Hebrew/Greek history of the church.

2. While traditional Jews believe that the dead are dead – they simply disappear until Judgment Day when they are resurrected and judged for the one and only time – the ancient Greeks believed that when the spirit (breath) leaves the body, it travels immediately to the River Styx where it would be ferried by Charon into Hades, the land of shadows.[*] Hence, the belief in the immediacy of the afterlife stems from the Greek view, and the belief in judgment upon resurrection stems from the Hebrew view.

3. During the three centuries when Christianity was an oppressed religion in Rome, groups who had heard the gospel had to meet in small, secret gatherings with little or no communication throughout the Empire. It is not surprising that these groups all interpreted the New Testament with somewhat different spins. After Constantine liberated Christianity within the Empire, it is not surprising that there were clashes between these groups, sometimes outright warfare. The “Trinity” was a compromise developed to bring peace to these groups.

[*]Note that “Hades” should not be confused with “Hell”; Hades is simply “the house of the dead” and, for the ancient Greeks, everyone went to the same place, rich as well as poor, powerful as well as weak, good as well as evil. There is no concept of “punishment” associated with Hades, although the ancient Greeks did seem to consider it a scary place.


http://www.naaija.com/old-testament-rigorously-monotheistic-james-pearce/

I need you to watch this video carefully.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNt5NKSse0Y