₦airaland Forum

A prophet cannot lie? Yes!

Mohammed said Jesus Christ was a prophet of God?
Yes!

Jesus Christ said "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one goes to the father except by me"

Mohammed is wrong if Jesus was telling the truth (and He was) and if Jesus was lying, Mohammed is still wrong. Resolve this dilemma - start asking questions of Mohammedanism!

Olameen1713:
You really lack knowledge about Islam. You need to be enlightened...

Have you at least tried to understand?

What happened with the gods of your forefathers, why didn't they win their fight against God?

If you believe in the idea of moral progress, there are reasons to ask questions of your forefathers.

"Come near to God and He'll come near to you..." - James 4:8

Nazaretha1:
Brilliant. For me, I think if I would believe in a god, it should be the gods of my fore fathers. The traditional gods of my culture, not these Asian, Middle Eastern gods and religions that I don't even understand fully.

Duterte comes across as a man who will only be interested in reasons not to believe in God. Like some other commenters on this thread.

It baffles me to hear an African man, born and bred in Nigeria say that they don't believe in God (you never jam bass?). By the way I'm Christian and thank God I enjoy a novelty that's unfading - in knowing, loving and serving God daily.

Ever heard of entropy? - it's the degree of disorder in a system. The universe is a closed system which means that disorder ought to reign supreme. But that's not the case at all!

In the book 'God and the Astronomers' by Robert Jastrow, one can glimpse why many astronomers were uncomfortable with admitting that the universe has a beginning. For there must be a beginner - a superintelligence behind it all. A Dictionary's not formed from an explosion at a printing press

In a study by Roger Penrose at Oxford, the probability that life just evolved from the big bang given the initial conditions was determined as 10^10^123. You could write all the zeros from this probability on all the atoms in the physical universe (10^79) a million times over and there'll be still be many zeros left. Note that in statistics, anything beyond 10^50 is an impossibility. .
So to believe that there's no God is to have more faith than the Christian. Instead of disorder what you and I see is the work of superintelligent design.

In argument by mathematics, this is sound argument. There is God and 'No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that He exists and rewards those who seek Him' - Hebrew 11:6

If you wish to meet and discuss the Christian faith. It can an be arranged. God loves you very much!

There's absolute coherence and correspondence (with reality) in the gospel. With sufficient answers to the questions of origin, meaning, morality and destiny.

PS: He has revealed enough for reason to discover Him, and hidden so much that reason alone cannot be enough. Shalom!

So much to say... We should talk!

Avedonn:
True!
Sometimes the more you think, the more you become confused about this religion of a thing.

The Biblical story of creation didn't just add up. It raised more questions than answers.

For instance, How comes among billions of planets discovered so far in the universe,it's only earth that is always the focal point?

Why would God create and still creating billions of planets and only earth can harbour living things?

What's the purpose of creating them?

Scientists have discovered the evolution of planets with the aid of Hubble telescope and space craft Voyager 1 and still discovering more.

Scientists have also observed the expiration of other planets in the universe after their core collapsed in which they turn in to black hole, red giant or supernova. Does it mean those planets have experience the so called rapture or what?

Science is gradually disproving the logic of religion.

Thanks for the bit about Medicines... I've learned a thing or two

hopefulLandlord:
tell us how he looks like

then compare your knowledge of how he looks like with that of fellow believers that claim to have seen the full picture of Jesus

the answers you'll get would explain to you why there are 30,000 different Christian sects who have all seen the "full picture of Jesus" but can't agree on anything among themselves

Yeah, elevate your own delusion over others
the odds that spiderman saves Mary Jane Watson from that fall is even lower than that
Maybe you should learn about Médecins Sans Frontières

That bit about Stan Lee's fantasy and delusion reminds me of a saying by George McDonald - " To give truth to him who loves it not is to only give him more multiplied reasons for misinterpretation."

My delusion as you've called it is more in tune with reality than your unbelief. If you're a naturalist, I hope you know the full implications of the big bang and the chances that life evolved hence?

About Christ Jesus. At this moment, He's sitted on the right hand side of God the father interceding for me and you. Before that, he'd payed the price for our sins through his passions and a bloodied cross. Even now, the Spirit of God is sent to change the hearts and minds of men so they can worship God in truth and spirit. Have you never heard the saying by Blaise Pascal - 'the heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing'. Blaise Pascal who came to know Christ Jesus and proclaimed

"from about half past ten at night to about half an hour after midnight, FIRE. God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, not of philosophers and scholars. Certitude, heartfelt joy, peace. God of Jesus Christ. God of Jesus Christ. "My God and your God." . . . Joy, Joy, Joy, tears of joy. . . Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. May I never be separated from him."

The followers of Christ Jesus were first called Christians in Antioch because of their Christlike disposition (Acts 11:20-21). I tell you brother, it's not by I am this or that but by action (Is that man or woman truly living like Christ?). Don't confuse it please!

Finally "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God"

This is STANDARD! Peace be unto you

hopefulLandlord:
tell us how he looks like

then compare your knowledge of how he looks like with that of fellow believers that claim to have seen the full picture of Jesus

the answers you'll get would explain to you why there are 30,000 different Christian sects who have all seen the "full picture of Jesus" but can't agree on anything among themselves

Yeah, elevate your own delusion over others
the odds that spiderman saves Mary Jane Watson from that fall is even lower than that
Maybe you should learn about Médecins Sans Frontières

Brother to believe in God is not speculation!

Rather not believing in Him is to believe in absolutely impossible wild fantasy.

To not believe in God is to hold the belief that a dictionary could be formed by an explosion at a printing press. Or even wilder that a fully functional Boeing 787 can be formed when a hurricane moves through a junkyard.

Roger Penrose (Oxford) calculated the odds that life just came by chance in the universe after the big bang - given the initial conditions after it occurred. You know what he got?

10^10^123 ... That's more zeros than all the atoms in the observable universe. In practice, 10^50 is an infinite impossibility. So for sanity and respect for objectivity, there's surely a superintelligence behind all this reality. Except you wish to believe in the impossible impossibility.

Christianity wasn't invented. I'll refer to it as the Judeo-Christian worldview. And you should know that sin a grace offense before God. Also, the prophesies fulfilled by Jesus were proclaimed by different prophets centuries between each other - this isn't stuff you invent. You know the odds of one man fulfilling all 8 prophecies? = 10 billion quintillion (10^28)... Jesus best it

Finally brother, there is now Grace, an eternal light that shines on all men. Believe in Jesus, be baptized and received the Spirit of God (the spirit of power, love and self-control).

"For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God" - Romans 8:14

kilojoDesigns:
Good, you have arrived at the possibility of the existence of God. It seems youre thinking for yourself. However where did all the rules come from, how do you know if God is good or evil? There's the miracle of birth and also the wiping out of entire settlements by natural disasters. Where did all your books come from? Why would one paragraph say not to kill and another verse say

"Go in and clean house, and don't leave anything breathing! Don't leave a donkey, child, woman, old man or old woman breathing. Wipe out Jericho."

There is possibly a Creator, but any other thing about "him" is nothing but speculation on our part. Inventions of wise men to control those too lazy to think, they help them think via religion.

Which I see people argue religion an technology It's ironic to me, they are one and the same.

I disagree with you. For someone called 'TheUbermensch' I expected a lot more...

It's important to NEVER judge a system of thought by its abuse. Having stated this, I must state that the Christian crusades were a travesty and abuse of the Judeo-Christian worldview.

But its quite fascinating how you mentioned those two humanist figures as theists. Hitler - Nazi and Stalin - Communist were anything but believers. No humanist is a believer!

Stalin - dropped out of a seminary @ 19, had read Darwin's origin of species at 13. He became such an affirmed atheist that his last physical act according to Svetlana Alliluyeva (His daughter, who stood by his deathbed) was to lift his head a bit, clench his fist against heaven before giving up the ghost). In his lifetime, Stalin killed ~50 million of his own people.

We go to China, Mao Zedong - another Communist. Killed 60 million of his own people.

Hitler, another humanist killed 6 million jews.

THE 20th century remains the BLOODIEST in recorded history [Predicted by Friedrich Nietzsche in his famous work 'Nietzsche and the mad man' - from where god is dead originated]

In religion, the travesty was an abuse of the worldview. In atheism it was the logical outworking of the humanist worldview because in those cases (Nazism, Marxism) humanity has no intrinsic worth - it is given from the outside.

In one instance, Stalin was interviewed by a foreign journalist who asked him 'for how long do you intend to punish your own people like this?'.
Stalin gave no answer but called a waiter at the restaurant to give him a live chicken... And he started defeathering it till it was completely nude. After this, he crushed pieces of bread and started walking away from his table - throwing bits on the floor, the chicken followed him. Shooting a look at the journalist Stalin said, 'there's your answer people are like that chicken, you torture them and they'll follow you for food the rest of their lives'. This is a philosophical theory of humanity which emerges as legitimate as any other theory (e.g. Marxism) in the humanist worldview.


Also avoid the trap of thinking about about Marxism as a mere economic theory, it is first a human description before it is an economic theory. Was it not Karl Marx who stated that 'religion is the opium of the people, the sigh of the oppressed, the only illusory sun that revolves around man so long as man does not revolve around himself'. Essential to Marxism is Atheism. Stalin, Mussolini, Mao were all Marxists

TheUbermensch:
Lol. Adolf Hitler had Catholic connections.

Joseph Stalin was a strong Christian.

Atheism amongst the ruling class in Europe at that time was unheard of.

Do a little historical research. Don't come on here and display ignorance.

Have you not heard of that Calabar houseboy who went to the cinema. Looked upon the rays of light blasting from the wall and thought to himself 'wow what a beautiful light, this is what a movie @ the theatre is like!'

Not until a kind sir pointed to the screen did he see the full picture (and what a glorious sight!). Again I've seen beams but the full picture is Jesus.

I maintain that anyone who looks at any religion and says there's no truth in it hasn't really understood it. But then I tell you, there's only one place where God's self disclosure is complete. And Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me"

And if you need some objective reference to ponder this truth claim, know ye that the odds that one man fulfilled all the eight prophecies done by Christ Jesus is 10 billion quintillion (10^28) (Dr. Peter Sterner, author 'Science Speaks' retrieved from http://www.goodnewsdispatch.org/math.html). But it is not on that I wish to dwell, it is the Power, Love and Self-control that the spirit of God himself bequeaths those who are his sons and daughters (2 Tim. 1:7).

Finally (on account of the selfless work of Christian missionaries in our world especially war-torn Sudan) I haven't seen a system of do's and don'ts that removes the evil in the heart. Only the Spirit of God changes the heart and mind of a man -+- "the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

Ekitimadman:
Santeria is a belief system that travelled from West Africa to the Caribbean and is now practiced all over Latin America, the US and even Europa. Yet much fear, mystery and misunderstanding surrounds it. To explode some of the myths, here are some things you should know about Santeria.

Santeria is a belief system that has its roots in Yoruba land, West Africa. During the times of slavery, in the 17th century, this belief system took a journey from West Africa to Cuba. It survived centuries despite attempts to eradicate and became popularly known as Santería because initially Africans saw similarities between some of the Catholic Saints and their Yoruban Deities. The name was also a way of disguising their practices behind a Catholic façade.

Most modern day practitioners whose branches of the religion have their roots in Cuba, like to call themselves Lucumi practitioners and the religion, Santeria is sometimes also called” La Regla De Ocha.” (The rule of the Orisha). These days the religion is widespread and practiced all over the Caribbean, Latin America and mainland United States of America, even in Europe. Yet there is still much fear, mystery and misunderstandings Santeria. Here are ten things you should know about Santeria.

1. There is only One God...Like many modern religions,Santería followers believe in just one God, the Creator known as Olodumare. It is neither a Polytheistic nor a Pagan religion, nor an animistic one. The reason why there is confusion is that many refer to the Orishas as Gods. Strictly speaking, the Orisha are not Gods but aspects of Olodumare that are manifested in the natural world around us.

Each individual is thought to be a child of an Orisha…There are hundreds of Orisha, but there are some that are more popular than others. Amongst the most well known Orishas areElegua, the trickster deity, Ogun, the blacksmith warrior andOchosi the hunter. They are collectively known as “The Warriors”.

Then there is Yemaya, The Mother deity that rules the Ocean and is the mother of us all. Oshun is the deity of the sweet waters and is also the patron of all that makes life worth living, the arts, music, love and sweetness. Obatala is the King of the White Cloth, the Owner of all uninitiated heads and stands for wisdom, patience and justice. He also reminds us to respect our elders. Shango is the King of the Drum, a deity who was once a King of Oyo. His Domain is Thunder and lightening.Oya is the Orisha that guards the gates of the Cemetery; She is also Queen of the market place. There are many many others, all who have equal importance.

2. Santería practitioners worship their ancestors; Like most African Religions there is a great emphasis on Ancestor Worship. A reverence to the Ancestors is fundamental to the Santería religion and before every ceremony, libation and prayers to the ancestors are carried out. It is important to know and mention by name the members of your own family that have passed to the realm of the ancestors in addition to members of your religious ancestors.

In addition to practices that have their roots in Africa, the European practice of espiritismo and Misa Blanca has been adopted by Santería practitioners. Within this context there is no hierarchy. Everyone is encouraged to develop his or her own abilities as a medium. Prayers are carried out and songs are sung in order to call spirit to communicate with those present. The founder of this practice was a man called Allen Kardec, a French Educator who was born in France in 1804. He believed that human beings are Spirit within a material body and that our true selves are spiritual rather than material. He believed that we each have our own guardian angel assigned to us and entrusted with our care, and we in turn must elevate them so that they can look after us.

3. Santeria is not a do it yourself religion...it is a community based religion with a clearly defined hierarchy. Trained priests perform ceremonies. These priests belong to a community of priests who also have a long historical lineage. Many priests will practice together in an Ile (a religious house) and train for different roles.

Initiation does not make a priest. Most competent Santerosand Babalawos have undertaken years of training and study. Like priests in other religions, there are good ones, not so good ones and bad ones. Akpwon is a knowledgeable singer of the religious songs. Omo Aña is a child of the Aña, the only ones that are allowed to play the sacred consecrated drums that accompany Tambors. Aborisha are non-initiated Santeria practitioners belonging to an Ile. There are also those that specialize in cooking religious food; those that are specialists in herbs; those that are beaders, throne makers and Blacksmiths and various other roles. An Iyawo is a newly initiated priest of Santería.
The ORIATE/OBA are highly skilled priests of the religion. They are also trained and skilled as Diviners of the System of theDilogun, the mouthpiece of the Orisha. They direct the most important and complex ceremonies.

4. DIVINATION...At some point in their lives a follower of Santeria will find themselves at the feet of Ifa or the Dilogun. (Divination with 16 cowrie shells) These are the two major and highly sophisticated forms of Divination within the Santeria religion.
Within a reading there is a possibility of 256 different signs that could come up. Each sign has various parables and stories attached to it. A reading will let the Client know where they are in their lives. A reading refers to the past, present and future. They will be advised on how to balance their lives; which path they should take regarding personal relationships, work and social and spiritual activity and practical recommendations on how to achieve their goals. Whether the client asking for the reading takes upon the advice and does the work given is another matter. At the end, it is a question of free will and the client has the choice as to whether or not to follow the advice of the reading. There is also the system of Obi. This is the throwing of five pieces of Coconut. This is a simpler form of divination, which is used by Santeros when they wish to communicate with their Orisha.

5. The Period of initiation takes a year and a week...The initial period of seven days in which various ceremonies are carried out, is followed by a year of a very very strict code of conduct, which includes, the wearing of white and special sacred beads and bangles. It requires the new initiate to refrain from contact with non-initiates. They are not allowed to drink alcohol, to wear make up, to shave or to eat with everyone at the table. They are not allowed out after dark, not permitted to go to crowded places, not permitted to shake hands with anyone or hug non-initiates. They are not allowed to take any objects directly from anyone or to walk barefooted. They are prohibited from having their photo taken, prohibited from partying and have to drink and eat only from a special bowl and spoon and cup that they must carry around with them at all times.
They are supposed to keep themselves very pure and to spend time understanding and studying the advise from the Orisha. They must keep their heads covered at all times. Basically this year is the beginning of their new journey and they are reborn. After the year is up. Priests still continue to follow certain taboos and restrictions that are for life. Every individual Santero has different taboos relating to them as an individual. An Iyawo is a newly initiated Santero.

6. There are two concepts that are vital to the core beliefs of Santeria. The first one Is Ashe (also known asAse, Ache or Axe). It means very simply life force. Ashe is generative energy that Olodumare has blessed us all with. It is energy; breath, life force and we cannot exist without it. Ashegives us the power to create and the wisdom to see things through. Without Ashe there is no life.
The second is Iwa Pele, which means good or gentle character. For Santeria followers, initiated as priests or not, It is important to grasp the meaning and entity of Iwa Pele. Living with good grace is what gives us a purpose in life. As spiritual beings we are responsible for living the best life that we have been blessed with. Our life's work should be to evolve and to analyse our faults and improve upon them. It is important to strive to be a better person, a person with good character. By doing this one can change the energy flow around us. A title such as Babalawo, or Santero, means little, if that individual cannot show that they live and understand the concept of Iwa Pele

7. Santeria is not witchcraft...Many people are fearful of religions such as Santeria and Vodun since they equate the religion with practices of Witchcraft. Santeria is not Witchcraft. It is not the study of spells or using spells to harm or affect anyone else. Anyone who thinks that Santeria can be used to keep a girlfriend, harm an enemy or win the lottery has not understood the principals of Santeria and is misguided. Santeria is about living the life that has been assigned to you the best way you possibly can. Followers of Santeria may use various tools to protect themselves such as spiritual baths or the wearing of sacred Necklaces. They may use various herbs to cleanse or protect, or they may make offerings to their ancestors or to Orisha. That does not equate with Witchcraft.

8. Animal Sacrifice is a tiny part of a practitioner ‘s routine...Much has been made about Animal Sacrifice in the Santeria religion. Offerings to an Orisha may include a glass of water, flowers, a candle, fruit or prepared items of food. More often than not a reading will recommend behavior modification or suggestions for improving ones behavior. It is rare that an animal would be marked for Sacrifice. However it is a part of the practice of Santeria.
There is nothing cruel about the sacrifices and more likely than not the animal is eaten and not thrown away. The animal is slaughtered in the same way that animals are slaughtered in Jewish and Moslem practice for Halal or Kosher meat. Prayers accompany the sacrifice and more often than not, those attending the ceremony eat the animal.

9. A Santeros house is their temple...In general Santeros do not have a Church or a place of workshop as such. Their houses are their temples. They do not have anything such as a bible and commandments but each Santero has their own personal advice from the Orisha that they should follow. They use systems of Divination as their guides and they also look to the ancestors for help and guidance. The stories and moral tales that derive from the Divination systems were passed down orally, but there are also now books that tell them.

10. There are songs that accompany every single ceremony….and it is important as a follower of Santeria to learn the songs in order to join in and create a good Ashé. One of the most public of ceremonies is a Ritual drumming called An Aña or Tambor de Fundamento. The ceremony is public and anyone can come in, although the uninitiated have to be at the back and not approach the drums. Everyone can sing the songs though and it is important that everyone sings in order to build up the energy. The drum are consecrated and within them lives an Orisha called Aña. Aña is the Orisha that make the drums speak. A tambor is a ceremony that involves the bringing down of Orisha. The initiated priests become vessels for the Orisha to inhabit for a short time, in order to impart their knowledge and positive advise to all that partake in the ceremony.

There are many cultural projects these days that have explored the tradition of Orisha Song, however they are cultural interpretations and although the rhythms are the same, the drums are not consecrated. It is important to note that the songs are beautiful, the singing of them are deep but they are in essence a cultural interpretation that come from a living breathing spiritual tradition.

http://latinolife.co.uk/node/231

Interesting discovery > marinetraffic.com and it's real time too�. Learned som' new today - Onne port is almost as busy as Lagos. Should come in handy someday. And is there another online resource I can use to track ships at our national ports?

erico2k2:
I shipped 2x 40ft from china to Onne port last year, I am also shipping another 20ft from London as we speak, so my friend if you know you KNOW!, and to be well informed, you can check live daily manifest of ships/vessels in and out of the Ports in real time on line for free. Nigerians youths are too lazy to dig deep for a bit of research!

Penisinpenisout:
Very soon Nigeria and Nigerians as a whole would be the least, or the bottom citizens of the world. We are soo mediocre, it's painful to watch.
Travelled to some countries in East Africa and most people never heard of internet fraud before. Why do West African's lack morals? So backward in everything, preach the reverse of everything.

I challenge you to name a continent whose Moral Values are as lowly as ours.

I think your question should be addressed to humanity. Why does man lack morals?

Why all of the evils in the world, thousands have died in the Syrian war without an end in sight, drugs are manufactured by the tonnes and shipped around the world in all forms, babies are sold into sex slavery etc.

So much greed, lust and unbridled pride!

It's humanities problem, this is one of the faces of evil. If you assume an absolute moral standard, you'll surely see the insanity in every clime. Otherwise, there's no point in saying our crimes are worse than theirs. All have sinned!

Impressive!

userplainly:
first of Lions, antelopes, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs can be found mostly in the north, west and south west like Edo! wild dogs, crocodiles, civet, hippos can be found in the South south! Topis and Okapis can be found in the east and Northern Nigeria also waterbucks!.... waterbucks n large deers can be found in South south, west and east!.. Ostrich can only be found in the North! .... hedgehog, hares can be found in Lokoja ( north).... Python r everywhere especially reticulated but rock Python r found in the west and north!... elephants west! north n some few south ( to my knowledge).. like is said earlier River Otters can be found in Edo state! hippos can also be found in the north same as Nile crocodiles!.. dolphins n manatees can be found in the South south ( pH) ( warri) west ( Lagos) even jelly fish!.... so guy I can't name all but the ones I know are enough!... we don't have animal protection or care! I forgot to mention foxes! lemurs ( I swear they killed on at mercy land site) the white man said lemurs can be found only in Madagascar but wen I heard stories about the ones living at mammy forest warri I was pissed! shocked n happy!.... don't forgt we have gorillas! ( south) Baboons ( north, west) porcupine.......... mongoose! ( killed on self in warri) chased another species at Abraka ( wen I was still in sch)