A very deep and beautifully explained idea -- one that is based on a candid openness to objective criticism, progressive reform, and development. The world has never stood still. Things continue to change and evolve at a rapid pace. As humans, it is pertinent that we continue to adapt to these changes through constant self-reflections which should spur innovative suggestions not just for the development of the world but also an enhanced understanding of our role in it. Sadly, one disadvantage of some of the core belief systems is the stubborn attachment to unproven, and often retrogressive, dogma with very little room for critical evaluation or reform proposals. For the human race to keep moving forward, we have to be open-minded -- keep on learning and unlearning.

oglalasioux:
I predict that by the year 2050 the present adherents of Christianity and Islam will reduce by 70%. The bible and Koran will then serve only as a moral book even though both of them have been the most propagators of lies since the big bang.

Good work, OP.

Even though no one can tell the future, I would still regard a prediction of 70% reduction as being optimistic except of course things start changing fast. Thanks for the compliment.

phanshark:
14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. Hv you heard or read that he has brought them back? 4rm me 2 you,you need Jesus b4 he comes back very soon

It is good that you quote verse 14 of 1 Thessalonians 4 (boldened) but why not move on to verse 15? I will quote it for you: "According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep" Do you notice the part in red? It addresses your point. By "those who have fallen asleep" Paul was simply referring to those that had already died in their time and not future generation, otherwise the entire passage makes no sense.

Have I heard that he has brought them back? Certainly not! And that's the point!! Billions of people have died since then and their bones turned to ashes (and even evaporated). I wonder where they will come from.

On needing Jesus before he "comes back soon", you will notice from the article above that the apostles had been expecting him too. Yes, they were expecting him "soon". Christians down the ages have always expected Jesus "soon". They have all been disappointed just as you will be my friend.

I wrote this piece a couple of years back, and feel the need to again share my thoughts with everyone on the actual content of the scriptures on the second coming. Please forgive its length. I assure you that your time reading this will be a time well spent.
__________
Probably the strongest string that ties Christians to their faith is the belief that Jesus, the proclaimed messiah who died over 2000 years ago, will come back in splendour to judge the world and take his followers to heaven. Like most religious teachings, this belief is based solely on “faith”. So embedded is this message in the hearts of the faithful that very few have taken time to study what the Bible actually says about an important part of the second coming—the part every Christian would like to know. When? When exactly is Jesus coming? Unknown to many Christians the Bible gives a very strong clue—a certain time frame as to when Jesus was to be expected back. The fact that not many Christians have actually contemplated these Bible passages is probably one of the most amazing occurrence in Christianity and religion at large.
The following paragraphs will detail passages of the New Testament that talk about the end of the world. You may want to pay attention to the emboldened/underlined words. Let us start with Jesus himself. (The full Scripture quotations have been set out for ease of reference. Bible quotations are in red).
In Matthew 10, Jesus sends out the 12 disciples to evangelise. Verse 5 says: “These 12 Jesus sent out with the following instructions…” Then there is a long list of instructions. However, in verse 23 things get interesting. “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes”.
Here, we see Jesus telling his apostles that he would return before they have carried the message of the gospel through the towns of Israel. But don’t get excited yet. Let us look at the gospel of Mark, chapter 13. In this chapter, Jesus gives the signs of the end time. He speaks of a "tribulation", nation rising against nation, earthquakes, and the coming of false Christs and false prophets, the stars falling from the sky, and the coming of the Son of Man "in the clouds with great power and glory". Then, in verse 30, he tells when this will happen. "Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done."
Matthew also relates this story: The same earthquakes, false prophets, darkening sun, falling stars, etc., and the return of the Son of Man, "coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." And then in verse 34, he says when to look for all of this commotion: "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
In Matthew 24:4 when the disciples asked Jesus about the end of the world, he "answered and said unto THEM", "Take heed that no man deceive you... ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars... Ye shall see the abomination... etc." He is clearly replying to them, telling them what they shall see. He says that THEY shall see these things. Then he concludes by saying: "THIS generation shall not pass" until he comes again.
You think this is conclusive? Hang on. It gets even juicier. The same story is related in Matthew chapter 16. Yet this time, Jesus does not use the word "generation". He again describes how he will come in the glory of his father, with his angels, to judge men according to their works. Then he concludes by saying "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."
That is the final nail in the coffin. Matt. 16:28 says there were some men standing there next to Jesus who will see his second coming, and it is totally clear that in Matthew 24:34 and Mark 13:30, Jesus believed and taught that the end of the world would come during the lifetimes of his apostles. Jesus says so himself. He thought that he was going to be returning in the First Century. He said: "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand." (Mark 1:15) Similar statements are to be found in Mark 9:1; 13:30; Matthew 10:23; 23:29-36; and Luke 12:49-50. And just before I go on let me remind you that Jesus' title of "Messiah" literally translated means "inaugurator of the end".
Ok, enough of Jesus now. Let us go to the disciples. They passed on Christianity to us. So what exactly did they think? We will start with Paul, the greatest protagonist of Christianity.
In 1st Thessalonians Chapter 4, Paul predicts the prompt return of Jesus at a time when "…we also … are still alive." (1 Thessalonians 4: 13 – 18 reads: Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Clearly, Paul thought he was going to see the end of the world. There is no greater evidence of this than is found in his letter to the Corinthians:
In 1 Corinthians 7:25-31, Paul writes: 25 Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27 Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.”
Yes. You read correctly. Paul is here asking Christians not to marry! Who would give such advice?! It appears insane to say the least. If people did not marry and procreate, the human race would go extinct. So why was Paul giving such an extremely weird advice? Simple. He believed the world was coming to an end soon. If the world was going to end in a couple of months or years what was the need of raising kids? Simple logic.
Was Paul alone in this thinking? No. Let us see what Jesus’ most beloved disciple has to say.
1st John 2:18: Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. Yes, you read correctly. John was saying back then (2000 years ago) that they were living in the last days. Yes. Back in his time.
Perhaps you may want to argue that the apostles were mistaken but I will restrain you here. If John and Paul could be wrong about this, then we cannot be sure of anything in the bible. And what would it say about Jesus if all his disciples misunderstood him and these were the same people supposed to transmit the gospel to all generations. In Luke 8:10 Jesus told his disciples: “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,“‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand. Also, in Matthew 13:10 : The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables.”
Although I have issues with why a Messiah who came to save the whole world should intentionally speak in parables so that the same people he came to save will not understand him, I will not go into that. My point is that these bible passages show that Jesus clearly explained himself to his disciples. If they and everyone else did not understand him then his mission would have been quite ridiculous. It is true that Jesus once pointed out that no one knows the exact time. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus says: "But about [b]that day or hou[/b]r no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.This only means that he could not reveal the exact day or hour, but the period or window of the second coming had already been established. For example, a person can say that he would be visiting you before your graduation but he does not know or will not say the exact day. In this case, Jesus had already told them he would come before they finished going through Israel, and that some of them listening to him would still be alive when he comes. So they knew the time frame but not the exact day or hour, which was why he said he would come like a thief in the night and taught many parables like the ten foolish virgins—parables that were usually about the end of the world.
So, what is my point? Simple. Jesus preached (and his apostles reiterated) that he was going to come back in their time. This teaching has been passed along since then. All you have to do is ask a Christian if Jesus will return during their lifetimes and they will express optimism. People are taught by their priests and pastors that Jesus is "coming quickly", and that they should be prepared, because he might pop up at any moment.
There have been many projected dates in the past. Not surprisingly, these have all been wrong. And they will continue to be. The First World War came and went, the Second came and went. AIDS and Ebola will come and go. The Syrian War will come and go, Al Qaeda and ISIS will come and go, and people will keep on saying these are the signs of the end time. If the Holocaust did not precipitate the end of the world, if the Rwandan Genocide, the Haiti earthquake, tsunamis and hurricanes did not signal the end, what then would?
The sad reality is that the end of the world will not come anytime soon. Jesus will not "come quickly". No. What will happen is that you will continue to live, and work-- the world will continue to go on, past 2015, then 2020, then 2030, and so on, until you grow old and pass away. When you get to be old, at the end of your life, think of this writing. Think of the billions of people that hoped like you, but now repose in their graves. Just like those dead billions, You will never see the end of the world.
(I do not expect to sway Christians by this article. Faith/belief is not based on reason, so articles like this do little to dent an adherent’s belief. Only you can decide. All I ask is for you to think about these things).

all4naija:

Please, fight for the rights of average Nigerians. The barbarians in different positions are oppressing the citizens and stealing from the nation. This is your chance to do something about them. I think it shouldn't be all about having the certificate you are so much anxious to get the PhD.

I guess one of the reasons of doing a PhD is to come up with solutions to practical problems. These solutions would be useless if not implemented, say, by passing new policies. So we either have to convince the governments or become the government.

Priceless24:


That's great, I also intend researching on human rights in Africa, Nigeria to be precise and the possibility of eradicating the violation of human rights through ethnic and religious conflict. Have you published any articles?

That's a good one. Many rights are violated in ethnic and religious conflicts in Nigeria, and they go unremedied!! I have a publication in the offing,the publishers having agreed to publish same. Also going to publish a text co-authored with a colleague and a Professor in my department.

Priceless24:


Wow, that's great. What's your research on and what school?

I'm looking at the future of human rights in Africa with a view to proposing reforms to the current institutional framework for safeguarding and protecting those rights. In other words: how do we reform the African Commission on Human Rights and African Court to enable them play a more effective role in the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa? (putting it quite simply )

Ezechinwa:


hello sir ... pls i have a question!... we all know that first degrees have classes either first class, 2nd class upper or lower etc... does Msc and Ph.d have the same class

cuz i have never seen a M.sc or Ph.d student mention such...

I think the practice varies from country to country. In the UK, there is classification for Masters Degrees in the following categories: Distinction (which is equivalent to a Bachelors' first class), Merit/Commendation (equivalent to a 2:1). For instance if you make a Distinction or Merit your certificate will read thus: "Masters of Laws with Distinction" or "Masters of Laws with Merit". If you made neither, your certificate will merely read: "Masters of Laws". However, there are no classifications for a PhD (in the UK). A PhD is a PhD.

Priceless24:


Bachelors- LLB Law
Masters- LLM Law
PhD- International Human Rights Law

Awesome! I'm currently in the second year of my PhD in International Human Rights Law. It's good to see a prospective colleague. Human rights is a constantly evolving and interesting topic. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

I don't understand what is the obsession with virginity especially coming from men who should know better. A woman is not a mere sex commodity whose value should be judged on whether or not she has had sex. Judge a woman by her intellect instead!

ZACHIE:


Is Mimiko still Governor of Ondo State? YES.

Warped minds.

I keep seeing this comparison with Mimiko. Get this straight: Mimiko is a governor and Tambuwal is a member of the House of Reps, these are different positions! The Constitution provides specifically that a member of the House of Reps loses his seat if he becomes a member of another political party. (Section 68(g) of the 1999 Constitution).This section is crystal clear. Stop calling Mimiko who is a governor. The section does not apply to governors!

I disagree with this post for the following reasons:

1. It points out that as virgins, one could not contact STDs such as HIV. Well, this is almost true. Let's ignore for a moment that there are other ways of contacting HIV, not having sex drastically reduces this chance. However, what gives STDs is not sex, it is sex with an infected person! As couples, you will never contact STD if you have sex with just one uninfected partner! (or anyone for that matter who is not infected). So instead of telling youths not to have sex at all and be virgins, is it not more fruitful to preach faithfulness to one spouse (married or unmarried)? And by the way, science has shown us many ways of preventing these diseases. Tell me guys, many of you reading this have had sex numerous times. How many of you have HIV?

2. Unwanted pregnancies: The post claims that there was no way a virgin could get pregnant. Let us ignore for a minute the falsehood in this statement as even virgins can get pregnant through artificial insemination. But wait, what happened to condoms and other forms of contraceptives, or even the age long withdrawal method?

4 Lust: I wonder what point OP is trying to make here. Virgins are quite as lustful as any girl around. Some of them engage in MouthAction and cunninglingus but refrain from penetration which is deceptive and hypocritical to say the least.

5. Early marriage: OP asserts that virgins married early. Really? Who has been recording the statistics? If anything, virgins would marry late because their virginity restrains them from entering into relationships!

I don't advocate random and uncontrolled sex, but come on, a little sex, even if with just one partner should not be condemned.

The rest of the post is filled with baseless points ranging from how virgins don't have problems getting married to how beautiful they are . I don't see the need to comment on those.

The Second Coming: When will Jesus Come back?
The Bible Passages Christians never think about

________________________________________
Probably the strongest string that ties Christians to their faith is the belief that Jesus, the proclaimed messiah who died over 2000 years ago, will come back in splendour to judge the world and take his followers to heaven. Like most religious teachings, this belief is based solely on “faith”. So embedded is this message in the hearts of the faithful that very few have taken time to study what the Bible actually says about an important part of the second coming—the part every Christian would like to know. When? When exactly is Jesus coming? Unknown to many Christians the Bible gives a very strong clue—a certain time frame as to when Jesus was to be expected back. The fact that not many Christians have actually contemplated these Bible passages is probably one of the most amazing occurrence in Christianity and religion at large.
The following paragraphs will detail passages of the New Testament that talk about the end of the world. You may want to pay attention to the emboldened/underlined words. Let us start with Jesus himself. (The full Scripture quotations have been set out for ease of reference. Bible quotations are in red).
In Matthew 10, Jesus sends out the 12 disciples to evangelise. Verse 5 says: “These 12 Jesus sent out with the following instructions…” Then there is a long list of instructions. However, in verse 23 things get interesting. “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes”.
Here, we see Jesus telling his apostles that he would return before they have carried the message of the gospel through the towns of Israel. But don’t get excited yet. Let us look at the gospel of Mark, chapter 13. In this chapter, Jesus gives the signs of the end time. He speaks of a "tribulation", nation rising against nation, earthquakes, and the coming of false Christs and false prophets, the stars falling from the sky, and the coming of the Son of Man "in the clouds with great power and glory". Then, in verse 30, he tells when this will happen. "Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done."
Matthew also relates this story: The same earthquakes, false prophets, darkening sun, falling stars, etc., and the return of the Son of Man, "coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." And then in verse 34, he says when to look for all of this commotion: "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
In Matthew 24:4 when the disciples asked Jesus about the end of the world, he "answered and said unto THEM", "Take heed that no man deceive you... ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars... Ye shall see the abomination... etc." He is clearly replying to them, telling them what they shall see. He says that THEY shall see these things. Then he concludes by saying: "THIS generation shall not pass" until he comes again.
You think this is conclusive? Hang on. It gets even juicier. The same story is related in Matthew chapter 16. Yet this time, Jesus does not use the word "generation". He again describes how he will come in the glory of his father, with his angels, to judge men according to their works. Then he concludes by saying "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."
That is the final nail in the coffin. Matt. 16:28 says there were some men standing there next to Jesus who will see his second coming, and it is totally clear that in Matthew 24:34 and Mark 13:30, Jesus believed and taught that the end of the world would come during the lifetimes of his apostles. Jesus says so himself. He thought that he was going to be returning in the First Century. He said: "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand." (Mark 1:15) Similar statements are to be found in Mark 9:1; 13:30; Matthew 10:23; 23:29-36; and Luke 12:49-50. And just before I go on let me remind you that Jesus' title of "Messiah" literally translated means "inaugurator of the end".
Ok, enough of Jesus now. Let us go to the disciples. They passed on Christianity to us. So what exactly did they think? We will start with Paul, the greatest protagonist of Christianity.
In 1st Thessalonians Chapter 4, Paul predicts the prompt return of Jesus at a time when "…we also … are still alive." (1 Thessalonians 4: 13 – 18 reads: Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive [/b]and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Clearly, Paul thought he was going to see the end of the world. There is no greater evidence of this than is found in his letter to the Corinthians:
In 1 Corinthians 7:25-31, Paul writes: 25 Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27 Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.”
Yes. You read correctly. Paul is here asking Christians not to marry! Who would give such advice?! It appears insane to say the least. If people did not marry and procreate, the human race would go extinct. So why was Paul giving such an extremely weird advice? Simple. He believed the world was coming to an end soon. If the world was going to end in a couple of months or years what was the need of raising kids? Simple logic.
Was Paul alone in this thinking? No. Let us see what Jesus’ most beloved disciple has to say.
1st John 2:18: Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. Yes, you read correctly. John was saying back then (2000 years ago) that they were living in the last days. Yes. Back in his time.
Perhaps you may want to argue that the apostles were mistaken but I will restrain you here. If John and Paul could be wrong about this, then we cannot be sure of anything in the bible. And what would it say about Jesus if all his disciples misunderstood him and these were the same people supposed to transmit the gospel to all generations. In Luke 8:10 Jesus told his disciples: “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,“‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand. Also, in Matthew 13:10 : The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables.”
Although I have issues with why a Messiah who came to save the whole world should intentionally speak in parables so that the same people he came to save will not understand him, I will not go into that. My point is that these bible passages show that Jesus clearly explained himself to his disciples. If they and everyone else did not understand him then his mission would have been quite ridiculous. It is true that Jesus once pointed out that no one knows the exact time. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus says: "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.This only means that he could not reveal the exact day or hour, but the period or window of the second coming had already been established. For example, a person can say that he would be visiting you before your graduation but he does not know or will not say the exact day. In this case, Jesus had already told them he would come before they finished going through Israel, and that some of them listening to him would still be alive when he comes. So they knew the time frame but not the exact day or hour, which was why he said he would come like a thief in the night and taught many parables like the ten foolish virgins—parables that were usually about the end of the world.
So, what is my point? Simple. Jesus preached (and his apostles reiterated) that he was going to come back in their time. This teaching has been passed along since then. All you have to do is ask a Christian if Jesus will return during their lifetimes and they will express optimism. People are taught by their priests and pastors that Jesus is "coming quickly", and that they should be prepared, because he might pop up at any moment.
There have been many projected dates in the past. Not surprisingly, these have all been wrong. And they will continue to be. The First World War came and went, the Second came and went. AIDS and Ebola will come and go. The Syrian War will come and go, Al Qaeda and ISIS will come and go, and people will keep on saying these are the signs of the end time. If the Holocaust did not precipitate the end of the world, if the Rwandan Genocide, the Haiti earthquake, tsunamis and hurricanes did not signal the end, what then would?
The sad reality is that the end of the world will not come anytime soon. Jesus will not "come quickly". No. What will happen is that you will continue to live, and work-- the world will continue to go on, past 2015, then 2020, then 2030, and so on, until you grow old and pass away. When you get to be old, at the end of your life, think of this writing. Think of the billions of people that hoped like you, but now repose in their graves. Just like those dead billions, You will never see the end of the world.
(I do not expect to sway Christians by this article. Faith/belief is not based on reason, so articles like this do little to dent an adherent’s belief. Only you can decide. All I ask is for you to think about these things).