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 Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 7:06am On Dec 20, 2017 |
Olatunde Olayinka Ayinde I met a member of Winners' Chapel in Lagos. Fine girl with LLB, BL. Naturally our discussion got to religion. I asked her if it wouldn't be safer, saner and more sensible if the annual Shiloh programme was televised so that only those who live near Otta need travel to the camp while every other person coming from far places such cities in the North, Southeast and South south can watch the proceedings on TV. I reasoned further that this would reduce the volume of travellers on the road and consequently the number of accidents on the road. Miss LLB,BL said Papa had prayed that nobody coming for this Shiloh would be involved in accidents! So it is those who are not coming for Shiloh that would now be involved in accidents, right? She said no o, all she was saying was Shiloh participants would be spared. What happened to other road users was not her business! In fact, she was certain that continuing that conversation beyond that point would lead her to sin! Then it finally dawned on me. Miss LLB,BL may not be a bad person. She had just been indoctrinated to be narrow minded. The victims of such narrow mindedness are empathy, a sense of community and concern for the welfare of fellow men. 10 Likes 1 Share |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 3:50pm On Dec 19, 2017 |
ARE YOU RELATED TO JESUS? References to Jesus' siblings are a little hazy in the Bible. The book suggests he had four younger brothers (James, Joseph, Simon & Judas) and an unspecified number of sisters. Of course, if Jesus was the bastard son of God, these siblings were only half brothers and sisters but they were born of his mother and would most likely have grown up knowing Jesus very well indeed. They must have noticed he was a uniquely special person. It is inconceivable that these siblings would have been unaware of the exploits of their older brother; his miracles, his disciples, his multitude of followers, his grisly death and subsequent resurrection. With at least six siblings and given family sizes in the first century, it would be reasonable to expect several thousand people would be able to trace their lineage back to Jesus' family after just a few generations. That would equate to many hundreds of thousands by today. Being related to God would be quite a talking point for any family so knowledge of this prestigious heritage must have passed from generation to generation with enormous pride. But here is the odd thing. It didn't happen. We don't see thousands of people claiming family ties to Jesus. In fact we don't see anyone making such claims. If Jesus was a real person, this is a great mystery. Just as it is a mystery that, despite the miracles, the public challenges to religious authorities and the huge following, not a single contemporary wrote a word about him and he left not the smallest shred of physical evidence of his existence. But if Jesus was a fictional character invented to launch a new religion, this is EXACTLY what we should expect. 11 Likes 2 Shares |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 9:49pm On Dec 18, 2017 |
MISSING FATHER & SON We are told Jesus was a man who was seen by thousands, yet it's not possible to show beyond reasonable doubt that he ever existed. What then, are the chances of showing that his invisible, immaterial dad (who was seen by no one) ever existed? Pretty slim, I'd say. Might explain why no one has ever managed it. 5 Likes |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 7:47pm On Dec 17, 2017 |
Often times, when people say “Rules are Rules”, it is because such a rule appeals to their sentiments. We are all emotional humans filled with biases. This is ok. But it isn’t ok for us to deny that we are actually bias. Let’s just admit it. Let me walk you through what I mean. Try READ THIS POST TO THE END. 1. A woman who wears hijab on her call to bar day won’t be called to bar. 2. Homosexuality is a crime in Nigeria. 3. Women in Saudi Arabia can’t drive unaccompanied in. 4. A Nigerian woman cannot file for Nigerian citizenship for her foreign spouse, but a Nigerian man can do that for his foreign spouse. 5. Gay couples can get married in the UK. 6. In Canada, a man who beats up the wife is required to leave the house for her. An atheist will like the first rule, and defend it saying “Rules are Rules”. But same atheist who is an LGBT right advocate will not remember to say “Rules are Rules” when it comes to 14 years jail sentence for homosexuals in Nigeria. A homophobe will say “Rules are Rules” for the second rule above. But will forget that “Rules are Rules” when considering the fifth rule about gays couples in the UK. A male chauvinist will say “Rules are Rules” for the 3rd and 4th rule. But they won’t say so for the 6th rule. *-*-*-* You see, I don’t take Nigerians seriously when they say “Rules are Rules”, because most often than not, they are just driving a narrative that appeals to their sentiments and biases. Let me tell you what I think about the hijab issues, and some of those rules up there. A. If I were a Muslim lawyer, I will not wear a hijab to my call to bar because “Rules are Rules”. B. If I go to Saudi Arabia, I won’t drive unaccompanied by a male because “Rules are Rules”. C. If I were a homosexual and I lived in Nigeria, I will hide my sexuality in order to avoid 14 years jail sentence because “Rules are Rules”. You see those rules A, B, C, huh? If I find myself in a position to obey any rule, I will obey them to avoid consequences. BUT.... That doesn’t mean I think any of those rules make sense. I think a rule that prevents a girl from being called to bar because she wore hijab is a silly one. One that needs to be reviewed as a matter of urgency. I also think that saying women must drive with male companions is a very stupid rule. I also think that jailing people for their sexuality, when they have caused no harm to third parties is one of the worst cases of insanity. What’s my point? All Rules are Rules. I will obey them when I have to, and fight them from a safe distance, as much as I can, and as much as my strength can carry me. Going to call to bar with a hijab is like making out in a Nigerian market with your same sex partner, because you want to prove a point... your right. You will go down for breaking the law/rule, even though the said law/rule is a stupid one. When I was in Nigeria, my Dad advised me after a distant relative was shot dead by SARS..... for the most flimsy reason. He said “Nkechi, you know you like to fight for your right at all cost. But let me tell you this; if you find a SARS or police officers harassing you and infringing on your right, act the fool, be the fool if that’s all it takes to get out of that situation alive. Then come home, and we will fight from a safe distance. Because he who fights and runs away, lives to fight better another day”. You don’t get involved in a gun battle carrying sticks. You will die a fool. In my opinion, hijab girl was stupid. But I also think that rule is a silly one, which is not inclusive enough for an aspiring diverse society. She could have “stooped to conquer”, take off her hijab for a couple of hours, and get called to bar. With her law degree and first hand experience, she could have been in a better position to fight against this law which she sees as an infringement of her religious rights. - Nkechi Bianze 7 Likes |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 6:56am On Dec 11, 2017 |
Kenerd:Amazing, right? If the top five churches generate more revenue than Lagos State, you can imagine that the Nigerian Church is richer than the Nigerian State. It's mind-boggling to imagine the coins that flows through the fingers of the Faith. |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 2:34pm On Dec 10, 2017 |
“Tax Compliance, Transferred Hope and Agaciro” by Jekwu Ozoemene I remember early this year when a friend noted in a presentation that the regional offices of Nigeria’s major Pentecostals remit a minimum of N200 Million per week to the centre while the smaller Pentecostal churches generate about N30 Million per week. He had gone beyond that slide when I called his attention to it, noting that he probably meant N200 Million and N30 Million per month respectively (both still very handsome figures), but he insisted that his numbers are correct. It turns out that Nigeria’s 5 major Pentecostal churches alone generate between N5 Billion to N7 Billion in collections every week; N28 Billion / N20 Billion per month (if you opt for either the upper or lower figures) or N336 Billion / N240 Billion per annum. To put this in further perspective, Lagos State with the highest Internally Generated Revenue capacity in the country managed N302.5 Billion IGR in the whole of 2016, Rivers State came in second at N85.28 Billion, Ogun N72.98 Billion, and Delta N44.045 Billion. In all, 35 States in Nigeria generated N801.9 Billion in IGR in 2016 (2016 IGR figures for Anambra and the Abuja FCT are unavailable). And I get the argument that the funds received by these churches are “Free Will” gifts. I even understand when congregants argue that investment by the Church is not determined by the Daddy GO / Papa / Prophet / Pastor, and point to schools, football teams, hospitals, old people’s homes etc being run by these institutions. It just scares me that the most populous and viable State in Nigeria, being Lagos, with all its responsibilities to 26 million citizens, generates considerably less revenue than the 5 major Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. For a nation, this is a lot of “Free Will” donations that cannot be systematically and professionally channeled to strategic infrastructure needs (and yes, I know that we already have corruption in public service). The why, if you ask me, could be that there appears to exist a trust deficit (moral rule, sentiments, fairness and relationship between taxpayers and government) between the Nigeria sovereign and her people leading to low “Tax Morale” (the intrinsic motivation to pay tax). This is further accentuated when you note that the country has one of the lowest Tax Revenue to GDP ratios in the world of 6.1%, ahead of only 11 countries; DRC at 5.9%, Angola at 5.7%, Saudi Arabia at 5.3%, Burma at 4.9%, Bahrain at 4.8%, Chad at 4.2%, Libya at 2.7%, Qatar at 2.2%, Equatorial Guinea at 1.7%, Kuwait at 1.5% and UAE at 1.4% (note the number of laggards that are emerging markets oil producing countries?). Citizens will rather give to the Church and other religious bodies (transfer all hopes and aspirations to God) than voluntarily or mandatorily contribute to government and infrastructure development. And I hear the argument that we already provide infrastructure through various self-help initiatives; boreholes, private security, generators, even roads, schools and health care, however, all this silo resolutions will ultimately be more effective and less expensive if aggregated. The Rwanda Government preaches the spirit of “Kwigira” – “Self-Reliance” and “Dignity” on the basis of which they have set up various investment platforms and an Infrastructure fund based simply on citizens “Free Will” contributions. So you see individual or corporate citizens who make free will contributions of up to 10% of their monthly or annual income to the fund (and I agree that there appears to be social pressure to comply), much in the same way that Christians engage in Tithing. The RNIT Iterambere Fund as well as Agaciro Development Fund, a Solidarity Fund (Agaciro is the Kinyarwanda word for “Dignity”, implying that Rwandans lost Dignity from the erstwhile reliance on foreign aid). But that will be asking for too much from Nigerians. So for now, let us just accept that in Nigeria, “Believing God” and “Sowing a Seed” generates more revenue than taxes. Or (and I say this with all sense of responsibility, conscious of how sensitive religion is to us as a people) we tax the Churches and religious bodies. Should religious bodies act as quasi tax aggregators? Which way Nigeria? 1 Like |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 6:37pm On Dec 07, 2017 |
THE PROBLEM OF JEALOUSY They say God is a god of infinite love. Yet the Bible tells us he is a very jealous god (Exodus 34:14 et al). This makes me wonder how a being of infinite love COULD be jealous? If God has infinite love and other gods exist that humans worship, God should love those other gods so much that he should feel only joy that they are being worshiped. Think of it like this, if someone you truly love has good fortune could you be jealous of their good fortune? No, you can only be happy that they are happy. If God loves humans but not other gods, he does not have infinite love. If there are no other gods, there is no reason for God to be jealous. I imagine God might be disappointed that humans were misguided or disobedient but not jealous. However you look at it, God cannot be both jealous and infinitely loving and nor can he be jealous and the only god. This puts believers in a bit of a bind. They have to believe God is jealous because the Bible explicitly says so several times. But that only makes sense if God does not have infinite love AND if other gods exist. Perhaps a simpler explanation is that the whole thing is a story invented by people who didn't bother to think it through. 3 Likes |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 6:36pm On Dec 06, 2017 |
THINKING THE UNTHINKABLE If you are a Muslim there is a very good chance that whatever uncertainties you see in the world, your God isn't one of them. It is very likely you would say you KNOW Allah exists and Allah is the one and only god; you are likely to be CERTAIN Muhammad was the last prophet chosen by God and Islam is the only perfect religion. You are probably so sure about these things that it is UNTHINKABLE to question them. But if these things are true why should questioning them be unthinkable? If these things are true, thinking about them should confirm your confidence in them. And, if they are not true, you can only discover that by thinking about them. So how do you think about the "unthinkable"? You can start by asking yourself how you know your beliefs are true. You can dismiss some reasons very easily. Your beliefs are not true because more than a billion people share them. If number of believers was a valid test, Christianity would be true. And before that Roman Paganism would have been true... Your beliefs are not true because people you love and respect told you they are true. If this was a good test, Hinduism would also be true. Actually, every religion would be true. You may be convinced because you have been told that the Qur'an is perfect and perfection can come only from God. But is it really perfect? To find out you will have to read it. And you will have to read it, not with the intention of proving it is perfect but with the intention of discovering IF it is perfect. If you cannot approach the task with that attitude, don't bother because you will be wasting your time. Does it contain verses that show an accurate understanding of the universe or does it resemble the understanding that a 7th century person might have? To be perfect, there must be NO mistakes, nothing that you have to explain away. All of it should be clear, unambiguous and correct. Or you might like to think about other reasons that show God is real. More than 30 arguments for the existence of God have been offered over the centuries and all of them have been shown to be invalid. If you disagree, feel free to post your preferred argument below and I'll show you why you cannot rely on it. If you dare think the unthinkable, what are you left with? You will be left with beliefs that you were told were true as a child and were reinforced as you grew up because they were deeply believed by almost every significant person you came into contact with. This explains why religious belief is a function of geography and family. Look at a map of the religions of the world and it is clear--religious beliefs are passed from people to people and not from God to people. Thinking the unthinkable could change your life, and it could change the world. 2 Likes |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 10:14am On Dec 04, 2017 |
budaatum:Brilliant! 1 Like |
| Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by joseph1013: 5:53pm On Dec 03, 2017 |
tbaba1234:I will play Senegal. They have good players. They are physical like Nigeria. The friendly we had last time shows they have the talent to match us, all things being equal. |
| Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by joseph1013: 5:36pm On Dec 03, 2017 |
peterd53:Fans will always be fans. They think they can top the group and thrash Nigeria. The Argentines also think they will get full points, considering Messi was not available for our friendly with them. That's exactly what the Iceland fans will also be thinking. 6points at the least. And here, we think we have the best chance at qualification.  9 Likes |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 12:54pm On Dec 03, 2017 |
BLASPHEMY AND THE CREATURE IN YOUR ATTIC Imagine you meet someone who strongly believed there was a creature living in his attic. A creature who watched his every move and could affect his life for better or worse. And he believed this creature needed to be appeased by performing regular rituals of chanting and singing. Naturally, you would be sceptical. You would want to find out if there was any truth to his beliefs. Your conversation might go something like this: You: Can you show me the creature? Him: No. I can't do that. It can't be seen. You: How do you know it's there then? Him: I hear it. It talks to me and I talk back. You: OK, can I listen to your conversation? Him (shaking head): No. It doesn't work like that. You have to believe it is real before you can talk to it. You: But how can I believe it's real if I can't see it or talk to it and only have your word that it's there? Him: Oh it's definitely real. It's as real to me as you are right now. You: I understand you believe that but how can I believe it with only your word to go on? Him: You can doubt me but you can't prove it's not up there can you? You: I don't suppose I can... Him: You have to have faith. Join me in my daily chanting and soon you'll believe it too. You'll see the light and your life will be transformed. That's the only way. ... If that story seems both crazy and familiar, it is. There is only one difference between the character in this story and the billions who believe in invisible gods. That difference is that your interlocutor is the ONLY person who believes in the invisible creature in his attic. Because of this, not only would you not believe his story, but you would conclude he needed professional help for delusional disorder. And you would be right. This story illustrates the true nature of religions. Religions are institutionalised delusional disorder. That is why they try so hard to make sure everyone is a believer--every disbeliever is a threat. The more disbelievers there are the closer believers are to becoming like the man in this story--isolated individuals believing highly improbable things that cannot be shown to be true. Real religions employ techniques to divert us from this obvious conclusion. Most importantly, they teach children to believe at an age when they are impressionable and uncritical; religious leaders often wear impressive clothes and claim they have a privileged relationship with their invisible creature. Then they seek to insulate their improbable and unsubstantiated beliefs from criticism. They promulgate respect for religious beliefs as a cultural norm. Sometimes, they even seek to make it a legally punishable offence to criticise religious beliefs. I can think of nothing more damning of religious belief than the existence of blasphemy laws. It is an admission that these beliefs are so frail and indefensible that it should be a crime to challenge their truth or reality. Truth and reality do not need to be defended by law. They can look after themselves. 5 Likes 2 Shares |
| Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by joseph1013: 9:05pm On Dec 02, 2017 |
The memory of that goal made me dig out his time at Inter Milan. He was so exciting to watch as a teenager. You will like to watch this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11smdlmSBso 2 Likes |
| Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by joseph1013: 9:04pm On Dec 02, 2017 |
safarigirl:Then let's invite them to camp. I'm fine with whoever the Coach picks. |
| Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by joseph1013: 8:43pm On Dec 02, 2017*. Modified: 9:02pm On Dec 02, 2017 |
safarigirl:Dicey. I will reluctantly take Henry based on sentiments. He has massive confidence for his age. I like his courage. For Wing plays, he may perform more than Obagoal. But I don't think Rohr likes him. It's a surprise to me. A case for Obafemi though. At Henry's age, he was bossing in the Champions League. I can never forget how he messed up Maldini and Nesta that year at the San Siro. Maldini said he was the most difficult player he ever encountered. If Henry is taken, it will be as a winger, while Obagoal will be as a top striker. So they are probably not fighting for the same spot. 11 Likes 1 Share |
| Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by joseph1013: 7:38pm On Dec 02, 2017 |
Humility017:Bar the time he was injured, Obafemi has been quite good for his Chinese club. Same league we have Mikel and Ighalo. See some of his plays https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHWVZPx0hJI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npur-Zn9xrs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQYZJ22e0sw He deserves a look in, if he keeps up this form till March. 2 Likes |
| Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by joseph1013: 7:25pm On Dec 02, 2017 |
Onyekuru scores! He's just prolific. 7 Likes |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 7:43am On Dec 02, 2017 |
WHEN A SMALL DOSE IS NOT ENOUGH I remember reading about a man who was found dead in his house. Let's call him Mr A. He was a man in his forties and was found lying naked on his bed. There were no signs of foul play but his body was a shocking orange colour. The post mortem revealed the man had died of liver failure. Mr A had few friends and only distant living relatives. Reporters spoke to neighbours and pieced together the circumstances of his death. It seemed Mr A was a health food enthusiast and he had read that carrots were the perfect health food because of their high concentrations of vitamins and minerals coupled with fibre and low carbohydrates. Some two years earlier he had complained of feeling listless--lacking in energy and motivation. It was then that he decided to use carrot juice to boost his energy levels. He invested in a juicing machine and made his own carrot juice. After some weeks, he felt he was getting no better so he increased his consumption from half a litre of juice each day to one litre. He continued to increase his consumption until, according to one neighbour, his diet consisted of some three litres of carrot daily, and almost nothing else. His plan was to find the right dose of juice to combat his fatigue but the outcome was he found the right dose to trigger hypervitaminosis with the resultant liver failure and death. I tell this story because it reminds me of some countries I know. The difference is, Mr A overdosed on vitamin A but these countries overdose on religion. Mr A's case illustrates perfectly, if you choose the wrong cure for your problems (he was almost certainly suffering from mild depression), you will not get better and may get worse. If religion doesn't help you in small doses, don't expect it to help in large ones. 5 Likes 1 Share |
| Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by joseph1013: 4:24pm On Nov 26, 2017 |
About an hour ago, Obafemi Martins helped his club win the Chinese FA Cup by scoring the winning goal. 7 Likes |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 3:56pm On Nov 26, 2017 |
Nkiru Njoku Today after watching for the umpteenth time the clip of Pastor Paul Adefarasin delivering a stumbling speech on Tithes, I am reminded of a time when I gave out my family’s feeding money for the month, to the church, as tithes. It was 1999. I was nineteen, our mum was abroad. She sent our feeding money for the month and in my Christian zealousness, fueled by a sermon laced with violent outbursts and an equal measure of quietly resounded admonishments, all surrounding the subject of how many of us had robbed God and this was responsible for family troubles such as having a ‘broken home’ - the kind I was from, I carried our feeding money ooooooo, I carried everything and gave church. Every last kobo, brethren! My siblings were stunned. I convinced them that God ‘gat us’. I would tell Mum what I had decided and she would sort us out knowing that I did what was right for the family. Chineke. That my mother didn’t kill me that day was only because the conversation had been via phone. “You gave seventy thousand as tithes? Is it your money? Did you work for it? Are you maaaaaaad?!!!” I felt so sorry for her. Sinner like her. She didn’t understand what I had done for her family. I had just sorted out our past problems and future ones. My kid sister was asthmatic and particularly sickly. My brother was in uni outside Lagos and we were always worried about his safety. Dad and Mum were separated and it seemed like they were never getting back together. I was bespectacled and pastor had said how no sickness (including myopia and astigmatism) was from God. IS THIS WOMAN NOT SEEING HOW I AM HELPING HER LIFE? Well, no. And if not that the welfare of my siblings was involved, she would have probably told me to go and sell my jeans and eat food when I asked her “so will you send another feeding money? There is no food in the house”. Ngwanu. There you go, Nk’iru. Einstein Njoku. .................... The other day, a friend who knows how passionately affected I am by the issue of pastors and churches siphoning money from people under any guise, felt the need to remind me again that not everyone is ‘under a spell’, not everyone feels ‘deceived’. He insisted that he gave tithes willingly. And many people say this too, but I call shenanigans on it. If there was no Malachi verse wetin wetin, you wouldn’t pay tithes. You give ‘offerings’ at your will, but tithes you give because it has been dressed up quite severely and as far as you’re concerned it is the only reason why you have a job, are healthy, have children, and have never been attacked by robbers. See your head. � Anyway, I asked my friend - okay let us agree that you have sense and nobody is scamming you because you’re not desperate and downtrodden, do you really believe in your church mind, that even people who have nothing, should tithe? Is it okay that pastors Malachi everyone into submission? Why not say “listen you don’t have to do this but if you want to, leggo!”? Na so! Even comot for tithes sef, what about all those offerings? Sometimes you can see it in the pastor’s face that even bros knows that he has overdone it. But he go just push. “Lemme try this last time”, he go tell himsef. “If them too vex I just sharp sharp break into tongues and we pass there end service make people no beat me. Yes, today they have given: Building levy Pastor’s appreciation Charity for missions Prayer sanctuary workers welfare But I can’t resist it, somebody (don’t) stop me! I’m gonna do it, I’m doing it, arrghhh....” And he does it! PASTOR: And church! May my people never tire to give! Somebody say amen? (Beat) The hearts of the congregants begin to beat wildly. HEARTS OF THE CONGREGATION: Shey no be say this guy wan ask for another - PASTOR: - so I know you’ve given seventeen offerings this Sunday. However, amen? Amen? Chiuu!! (Chiuu is that incoherent sound that is meant to represent being in the spirit in an unplanned-for moment). PASTOR: So put your hands in your pocket. The Lord has just told me today is a special thanksgiving Sunday for what his mighty hand is about to do for you NEXT WEEK. Amen?” And sister Caro the solo singer of life, breaks out in “if you give, it shall be given unto you, good measure pressed down and running over!” People go dey vexxxxxxx, dey tight face, but pastor has spoken. Not only has he Malachi-ed you into submission, he has also blackmailed you to pay in advance for a blessing, amen? Chai! Them dey really get me da year! And all for what? All because I sabi feel guilty. Lemme just do this o, should in case this is the problem. I can’t just be making money and I won’t give first fruit. I thank God I repented from giving him money. � I remember how after I had seen the light and was talking to a pastor friend about these things, he said my own financial iniquity sef don full basin - say because I work in entertainment and get employed by various people sometimes doing two or more jobs at the same time, say I suppose dey do first fruit on every job. Me? NK’IRU. NJOKU? Like my mother asked me that year: am I maaaad? ............................ Back to Adefarasin. I watched that clip again and something occurred to me. This guy had to say what he said. The people he’s dealing with are the kind that will say they are not senseless. They are like my friend. They believe they can never be scammed. Pastor knows this. So he had to try a new tack. Just say plenty things without saying anything sensible. But say it with an authoritative voice as usual. Undulate your tone though! Enunciate where necessary, and whisper as it becomes expedient. The spirit is leading you and you must stay in character. They will believe you. But when I saw some faces in the crowd, I laugh taya. Chim ooooo!!!! Anyway, this was the part of the speech that came in the clip I saw, which many of you have probably seen: “God creates all species of being; he took a tithe - the family of God, which is comprised of angels, the living and the dead in Christ” WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Kai!!!!!! “God creates the family of God; he took a tithe - Israel. God created Israel, the Israelis; he took a tithe - Levi.” At this point Adefarasin reminds me of Big Shaq, the moment he said “quick math”. Skraaaaaa! But pastor continues: “In another conjecture, or in another reality, God created humanity; he took a tithe - the church.” AT THIS POINT HE’S LOSING HIS CROWD SO HE SPEEDS UP HIS TEMPO. “God created the church, took a tithe - the eldership. God created the eldership, took a tithe - the apostle. God created the Church, took the head of the church - christ; another tithe.” And I stood up mentally and gave a fucking round of applause. “That boy good! He good!” (Coming to America, anyone?) And in that crowd of people who always claim to have sense, who seem to have sense, will be six or seven grown arse adults who like the nineteen-year-old me, have little to give, but have bought into pastor’s charisma, live with unwarranted guilt, really want the best for their lives and families, and will be convinced that their entire lives will be saved if they give from what they do not have, to he who has. If you fall into this category, I will pray for you tonight. Be free! Chiuuu!!!! 9 Likes 4 Shares |
| Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by joseph1013: 10:32am On Nov 26, 2017 |
BascoVanVeli:But isn't the only way to know progress by the number of games you play and how well you perform in them? 1 Like |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 7:44pm On Nov 23, 2017 |
ANOTHER OF ADEBOYE'S TALES-BY-MOONLIGHT STORIES I had just become General Overseer and I was visiting our parishes, we were very many then. I went to this particular parish finish ministering; and I came and I stood outside, there was this young man coming towards me, he was prostrating and getting up, prostrating and getting up until he got to where I was, he dropped something in the pocket of my jacket, and he began to run. Because of the way he was behaving when he was coming, I quickly want to check what he had dropped in my pocket, and it was a fifty kobo note – it was those days when fifty kobo were a lot of money. Those days will come back in Jesus name; don’t you agree with me? I know some of you may think it is impossible, just don’t claim it. I said those days will come back again. So, I called him back. What is the problem? He said, I had that our father in the Lord is coming and I want to give you a gift, this is all I have. How do you give fifty kobo to the General Overseer? I said, Haa! My son I promise you I will spend this money myself, so that I can bless you from the bottom of my heart – I said ‘my God will bless you’; and he went away rejoicing. I think either a year or two later, I was back to the same church, and I saw the boy smiling, coming towards me – This time now radiant. Daddy I have a testimony. Last time you are here, I gave you fifty kobo because that was all I had. But since then, God has done marvelous things in my life; now I have a whole school to myself. I said you have what? He said when you are here I had no job, so what I was doing was, I was coaching children after school. But then after you say ‘God bless you’, every child in my coaching class came first in class; and parent began to hear about it and began to bring their children, so many children that I had to be employing teachers. I want to say to somebody on credit – God Bless You. 2 Likes |
| Romance › Re: Lets Talk About What Constitutes Sexual Harrassment And Rape by joseph1013: 6:43am On Nov 23, 2017 |
Sagamite:Absolutely right! Not seen a black man make as much sense as he does. When I found him, I imagined you were his long-lost son. I know you 'hate' this platform, but coming in once a while, instead of the hibernation is not too much to ask. |
| Romance › Re: Lets Talk About What Constitutes Sexual Harrassment And Rape by joseph1013: 8:35pm On Nov 22, 2017 |
Sagamite:Fukctard! Where the f.uck have you been? Missed your crazy personality here. Review this guy for me. Dr. Thomas Sowell. 1 Like |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 10:17am On Nov 21, 2017 |
WHAT ARE THE ODDS? Just over half of the humans on Earth believe in the Abrahamic God —about 3.7 billion people. These people are confident that God is real and many of them do their best to win favour with him. They believe this is important because their ETERNAL LIFE will depend upon how God judges them. These believers belong to three main religions; Jews, Christians and Muslims each with very different beliefs. (Jews are less than 0.4% of the total, so I'll ignore them for now.) Let us imagine God does exist. And let's start by assuming the Christians have got it right —that God sent his son to be sacrificed for our sins and we have to accept Jesus as Lord to be saved. In this case, there is nothing God can do to help those 1.6 billion Muslims who do not accept Jesus as Lord. These people don't even accept that Jesus was the son of God. Of course, this means they will all spend eternity in Hell. If we assume the Muslims are right, people will need to follow the teachings of Qur'an to avoid spending eternity in Hell. So all Christians will be duly condemned. Actually, it's much worse than this. There are two main denominations of Islam and several smaller ones with theological differences that have led to disputes and bloodshed for centuries. It is not at all clear that Heaven will be available to those who have chosen the wrong denomination no matter how good they are as Muslims. It's even worse for Christians. There are thousands of Christian denominations and many of them differ on exactly how one qualifies for Heaven. In the most optimistic scenario, only a small proportion will make it to Heaven. Even if you are lucky enough to have chosen the correct denomination, you will still be judged on your faith (and, perhaps, works) and many will be found wanting and be condemned. However you run the numbers, only a small proportion of people will make it to Heaven, the rest will suffer forever. And, of course, it is possible that Abraham made the whole thing up and his God is fictional. If it is, how can you be sure there is not another God, with his own dreadful Hell waiting for ALL Christians, Muslims and Jews? The real problem is there is absolutely no way to work out which religion and denomination and behaviour will get you to Heaven. It is a lottery. Your chances of winning are certainly less than 10% and, more likely, a very tiny fraction of that. So, I do wonder how believers can be so confident that their eternity is assured when the odds are so awful? Do let us know. 6 Likes 1 Share |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 9:53am On Nov 21, 2017 |
I'm sending you something right away. But wait...which religion do you gravitate towards? |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 6:45pm On Nov 19, 2017 |
EASY TO BELIEVE BUT WRONG You may find it hard to believe that a cumulative process of gradual change over billions of years could result in the diversity and complexity of life we see around us today. You may find it easier to believe that all life forms were created in a few days by a higher power. But life on earth has left a trail of evidence. And all of the evidence is consistent with a gradual, cumulative process, whilst much of it directly CONTRADICTS the idea of an orgy of creation that took place over a few days. So this is what I don't understand, why is it easier to believe something that cannot be true rather than something that could be true but is hard to believe? 7 Likes |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 10:20am On Nov 18, 2017 |
Tosin Adeoti I can't believe I'm going to write a long post after applauding someone today of ignoring long posts on Facebook. Josh just look at me. . Well, blame the fellow who argued with me that it's possible for many people to read the same book and for all of them to have vastly different, even opposite, but equally valid opinions about the book. . Let's start with how to know what's true and what's not. What's real and what's fiction. What's myth and what's reality. . There's always been a trend of anti-intellectualism in this country that seems to pretend that "my opinion is just as good as your evidence". . Which, of course, is not true. . Everyone is entitled to their opinion. That's not at stake. And when someone says, "Well, I've got the right to my own opinion"....no one is debating that. That's a change of subject. Don't fall for that tactic. . No one is saying that people don't have a right to their opinion. The point is that the opinion can still be complete and total BS. . So, how do you know if a claim is true or not? Is it possible that all worldviews are valid and that science and religion and New Age and alternative medicine are all just looking at the same thing through their own lens? . This was the kind of thinking I used to be engaged in because......well, it's friendly. It feels good. But, again, it's quite possible for something to feel good and still be complete rubbish. . So, how can you tell which is true? What's real? What's mythology and what's fact? . The answer comes down to one word: evidence. . A guy says "The moon is white and thus made of semo". . Another guy says, "No, it's made of rock." . Both opinions are obviously not true. . So, what do we do? We send a rocket to the moon, take some soil samples....and -- behold! -- evidence shows that the moon is made of rock. Not stale semo from the south of Sapele. . Same thing with alternative medicine (I was surprised to find there is the Nigerian Institute of Homeopathy ���). Someone says "homeopathy cures health problems". Someone else says, "Homeopathy is nothing but snake-oil. It's a quack remedy that's good for nothing but separating a fool from his money." . So, how can we know which is true? Simple: you get two groups of people who have nothing in common except a certain health problem....one group gets drinkable water.....and the other group gets a homeopathic remedy. . At the end of the test, you see that the group getting homeopathy didn't get better any quicker than the people getting just water. . Someone says that going without food makes prayer more effective when you're praying for someone to get well. Someone else says that makes no sense. . Studies are done and the result shows that food makes no difference. In fact, there's no evidence to show that the prayer WITH food made any difference. . Someone recently said, "Tosin, you're going down a dangerous path." . Yes. Exactly. This kind of thinking DOES produce a level of danger. . But the danger is not for the person doing the thinking. The danger is for ideas that are based on superstition, wish-thinking, old wive's tales and hocus-pocus. The more people learn to think critically, the more threatened these ideas become. . Is this an easier way to live? . Definitely not. It's not for wimps. It's not for the intellectually lazy. . But it's also the only way I know of for a person to go through life in a way that will reduce the amount of BS s/he believes. It's not fool-proof. And we all believe in nonsense of some kind. . But, critical thinking is the best tool we have for reducing that amount of nonsense. . And I have never heard of any society in human history that ever suffered because its people became too desirous of evidence to support their core beliefs. But we know many who have been terribly hurt for believing and acting on beliefs that are simply not true. . Question everything! 5 Likes 1 Share |
| Christianity Etc › Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013(op): 6:11am On Nov 16, 2017 |
THE MIGHTY INVISIBLE FLEA It is possible that a supernatural invisible flea created the universe. We don't know for sure. But you could ask yourself four questions: Q1: How many things do we know for sure have natural explanations? A1: Billions. Q2: How many things, once thought to have supernatural explanations, are now known to have natural explanations? A2: Thousands. Q3: How many things do we now know for sure have supernatural explanations? A3: Precisely none. Q4. How many supernatural things do we know for sure exist? A4: See A3. These facts don't completely rule out the invisible flea. But they do suggest natural explanations for things we don't yet understand are MUCH more likely than supernatural explanations. You may find the invisible flea explanation very appealing but don't bet your life savings, or your life, on it being true. And, of course, the same logic applies to all supernatural explanations. 1 Like 1 Share |
| Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by joseph1013: 11:16pm On Nov 15, 2017 |
Argentina's defeat in the hands of Nigeria is the first time a team has won Argentina under Coach Jorge Sampaoli. 4 Likes 1 Share |
| Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by joseph1013: 7:21am On Nov 15, 2017 |
For those looking for the English Commentary, here is the full match. First Half: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNUSaH_hEq0 Second Half: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxFiETVkVyQ Download if you can. It may soon be off Youtube. 9 Likes 2 Shares |
| Sports › Re: "The Super Eagles Thread: The Road To AFCON 2027, 2028 And 2030 World Cup by joseph1013: 9:24pm On Nov 14, 2017 |
BascoVanVeli: Was surprised too. I THOUGHT someone said National teams cannot get the formation right during the short camp. 6 Likes |
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