₦airaland Forum

Younghacka:
Sour Chop

Soursop not sour chop.

sukkot:
most definitely my kind Sir

We'll see.

27Pushing30:
Trump didn't call any one a SOB.

Hypocrites

Because he called them worse names.

olatade:
The same people that would be upset with Trump for saying this are now celebrating it. It will fuel CNN for days.

Has Trump ever apologised for yabbing someone? What is there to celebrate here anyway?

Hismasterpiece:
What would qualify as satisfactory evidence to you?

Evidence to confirm the existence of a living person would be the minimum, security experts call it proof of life. Actual communication with the living person, a piece of information only a living person with shared intimacy would have access to, other forms of audio visual recordings with time stamps or date confirmations, etc.

sukkot:
https://www.nairaland.com/6954908/pictures-ukraine-edge-amid-fears

So you say this is start of WW3?

DeepSight:
While I cannot for all practical purposes find any quarrel with what you say, with those persons for whom the search for the meaning of life is a foundational object of the said life itself, such questions cannot be avoided. Sadly for me, I fall into this melancholy and probably Sisyphean category.

You tone does sound really melancholy, you don't see a way out?

sukkot:
i know what i wrote, i dont need to read it again

sukkot, sukkot, how far? No new date for World War 3?

Niflheim:
The hypocrites that avoid bible verses about selling all their property and giving to the poor? Do not expect religious hypocrites to give what they don't have. (Honesty and sincerity) .

LoLz! Like the OP who while castigating others refuses to say if he is a virgin or not. Bwahahahahaha!

Who are these people sef? You didn't utilise 3G and 4G it's 5G you will utilise. Nonsense and ingredients.

LMAO! Go shorty don turn go Charlie. PastorMisBack no go kee me with laugh o! Bwahahahahaha!

carrlyleone:
First, name any FAKE gospel you know.

Secondly, tell us the sense in writing books to people you see and move around with everyday, when you can simply use your vocals.

There are several gospels that didn't make it into the biblical cannon. Eg the gospel of Peter and the gospel of Thomas. Many other books didn't make it into the biblical cannon aside these gospels.

Because there were going to be more people he didn't see? By your logic the books shouldn't even be written since you can just keep speaking to the people around.

A001:
The answer you seek is in my earlier post you quoted.

The post I quoted did not define who these higher beings are hence my question.

DeepSight:
There is a phrase I sometimes use and it is "our suppositional reality" - it basically refers to our presumed reality. I use it to distinguish between what we must necessarily suppose or presume to be real in order to get on with our daily lives (this is what I believe you refer to) as opposed to whatever may in fact be real, simulated or hallucinated.

Because beyond Cogito ergo sum, I am not sure there is much a human can know to be real.

Our forebears in the wilderness didn't have the luxury of contemplating "suppositional reality", they had to determine if those waving grasses was a predator or not, that was the reality they need to determine and if they determined wrong they were going to be some beast's lunch. My attitude is not much different from them, I need to live and so must determine the things that are real for my continued existence. The luxury of contemplating "suppositional reality" only comes when I have assured my continued existence (for awhile at least).

AuthenticKing:
If you read my former replies, you must have read where I wrote that I believe in intuition, gut, premonition, etc. This basic knowledge is what native doctors, juju masters, spiritualists, pastors!, etc use to confuse people. They connect all these to manipulations by evil spirits, witches and wizards, etc. I read all these in books and it helps me find loopholes whenever a superstitious believer narrates these stories to me.

I agree with you that these beliefs are metaphorical but there are much extreme stories I hear that make me a skeptic.

You aren't properly applying your skepticism if a story makes you inclined to belief before you have explored the truth of it. The first thing a skeptic should do upon hearing a story is ask how can I verify it, if you start with belief you end up with religion.

AuthenticKing:
It's easy for you to say this probably because you are very much advanced in knowledge.

I'm still learning and being in the midst of superstitious believers makes it very hard for me. As I wrote in the post, we're constantly affected by things we constantly hear.
It's being very hard to take this superstitious beliefs for what they are...

What suggestions/advice can you give to a struggling freethinker who wants to achieve success?

Meanwhile I've been waiting for your reply, thanks so much

It's not about being advanced in knowledge. The skeptic asks "how can I ascertain that this is true?", if you have this attitude about everything you'll find superstitions easy to ignore.

I also live with Christians who believe in all these tales of spirits and evil powers but with this attitude I am able to show that many of their concerns are unfounded.

DeepSight:
Life is way more complex than this approach takes on board.
Even reaching a determination of what is "real" is a tricky affair.

For what is necessary for living that determination is absolutely essential.

AuthenticKing:
So you as a freethinker (whether atheist, agnostic, pantheist, deist, humanist or even Christian or Muslim who don't agree with everything you are being taught or exposed to!), how do you manage living in a country where there are so much superstitious beliefs around? If you don't believe in these things at all, can you give me reasons or proofs why you believe they don't exist (I'll appreciate proofs by experience more than knowledge from books)? If you're a skeptic, can you tell me how you thrive here?

I ignore superstitious beliefs since they have no impact in my life.

I don't believe them because they have not been shown to have any truth or reality to them.

As a skeptic I focus on that which is real and has sufficient evidence to act on.

AuthenticKing:
Hello here, this is my first time of posting.
I'm not an atheist, I don't even know the best label to give myself but I don't really believe in the Christian nor Muslim God. I see the Bible as a book filled with wisdom and inspiring metaphors but I don't agree with everything in it. I absorb so much wisdom from great minds that have lived and still living... I'm a skeptic too.
Well, enough of the introduction.

Ever since I became a freethinker 4 years ago, there is a particular aspect that keeps bothering me. As a Nigerian living in Nigeria, it has not been easy thriving in a country that has so much superstitious beliefs (that I don't really agree with). My mother (a strong Christian) tells me so much about diabolical things that she has seen that people experience. I've heard of so many stories of people who experience some sort of spiritual attack in Nigeria. Our Nollywood movies are filled so much with such stuffs and you know, our movies reflect our way of life. You can't move from one state to the other in Nigeria without hearing about some 'jujuic' practice.

But I've always been skeptical (even before I became a freethinker when I came of age though) about these beliefs. And when I became a freethinker and started reading books, I started finding some hidden meanings behind these superstitious beliefs. For example, I read a book that talked about people of the ages who used to consult those called the 'shamans' that were believed to have inner husbands or wives for advice and the author was tryna teach that if people of the ages could tap into the power within us, we should start connecting with the masculine and feminine that is within all of us.... There are so many other examples.

But books can't do everything! I come here at nairaland to get some wisdom from nairalanders here who are freethinkers but it's not enough. Christians who are so much devoted to their beliefs do not maintain such beliefs just by reading the Bible and meditating, they also gather in the 'midst of the brethren' to strengthen their beliefs. Same with every other religion. But I have no physical 'brethren' to share my views and thoughts with and it hasn't been easy because I'm surrounded with Christians and superstitious believing people. I struggle so much tryna grasp this concept of evil spirits and other superstitious beliefs like that (which is the main purpose of this post).

I'm not dismissing these beliefs completely. As I wrote before, I'm a skeptic. Besides I've heard a lot, I still go to church (I still live with my mum) and you know, we're so much affected by our environment and the things we constantly hear. Again, I'm very much aware that there are certain things that are beyond us that we can never understand. But I know so much that many needs to be enlightened about certain things they believe in...

So you as a freethinker (whether atheist, agnostic, pantheist, deist, humanist or even Christian or Muslim who don't agree with everything you are being taught or exposed to!), how do you manage living in a country where there are so much superstitious beliefs around? If you don't believe in these things at all, can you give me reasons or proofs why you believe they don't exist (I'll appreciate proofs by experience more than knowledge from books)? If you're a skeptic, can you tell me how you thrive here?

Again, in matters of attaining success, it hasn't been easy for me though and I've been doing some personal work on my self but living in the midst of Christians (I told you mum is a strong Christian!) has been very frustrating for me because many of them begin to give some impressions that there's a spiritual attack or some sh*t like that while I know all that are nonsense.

I've not been able to express myself better in this post (I still dey learn English) but hope you get my question/post.

If you are a skeptic by what means have you validated these beliefs to believe that there is something to them other than being metaphorical?

tctrills:
No I don't need to. If you have any evidence that God exist then would I show you that the soul of man is immortal

You need to if you claim there is an immortal soul.

I don't believe in any god or gods so why would I be showing you evidence of one?

tctrills:
Since you can't remember being in your mother's womb, let's just say you were never there

If I made the claim that foetuses in the womb are beings having experiences spanning years then perhaps you'd have a valid point but I haven't made such a claim while you have. Can you produce evidence for soul or is all you have dribbling about semantics and word games?

A001:
I think my posts on this subject are clear enough, and if you read them, you wouldn't need to ask this question.

I haven't read your posts on this matter. In summary, who are these higher beings?

Unclesmart12:
I met this girl few weeks ago online and we kinda vibed instantly, a couple of weeks later she came over to my house for weekend and we had sex the first night. I asked her about her relationship status later and she said she was in a relationship, though she doesn't love the guy.

She showed me proof of countless times she's told the guy the truth but he would always persuade her to stay with him with hope that she would warm up to him. So she stayed since he was paying the bills.

I can't tell her to leave the guy because I am not ready to pay any bills for anybody now. Just like most Nigerian girls she gets lots of calls, but one made me upset this night.

She was on call with a guy for almost an hour, from the tone of the conversation the guy might just be a friend, because the gist was centered around school and other random stuff. I felt she disrespected me by staying so long on a call and I made my feelings known when she was done. She got moody and stopped talking to me afterwards.

She finished cooking and dished mine in a separate plate even though we have been eating together since she came. She placed the food on the bed without notifying me and went on to eat hers alone. I tried to adjust and kicked the plate away breaking it in the process.

I packed the food and threw it into the trash can, she immediately went to the kitchen and dropped hers too. Took her bath and went to bed, though I know she's not sleeping.

She's supposed to go tomorrow morning and I intend deleting her contact after she leaves, however I really like her. I've not met someone I liked in a while. I don't wanna beg her since I didn't do anything wrong. Or was my reaction to the call extreme??

Should just free her or attempt talking to her?
How do I approach it without coming off as weak?

You kicked and broke your own plate of food because a girl who you know is in another relationship was talking on the phone? You already showed how weak you are.

A001:
You obviously don't know the history of the ancient Egyptians.

If you do, you'd reaiize they attributed all their achievements to their pagan gods and goddesses, chief among which are Atum or Tem, Ra, and Amun.

Hence, you'd see the names of their gods at the root of their own names. Do you think it's a coincidence names like Aten (the other name of Atum), Ra, Amun are parts of the names of many of their pharaohs?

The paintings of their pagan gods (the source of their knowledge ad civilization) are on many pyramids in Egypt.

Or you think their gods who are their ancestors are fictional entities? Lols.

You wrote "higher beings", who are these higher beings?

tctrills:
You need to drop this memory argument. Memory has nothing to do with mortality or immortality. Please bring up another argument and I promise to answer you

Nope, you should provide the evidence that soul exists.

tctrills:
First lack of memory of an event does not mean it did not happen. Also, if you understand the loss of memory of our infant experience, then it would be unfair to expect the memory of a much distant period.

I don't remember my last dream. Does that mean that I did not dream?

Rather it is evidence that there isn't something other than your brain collating your experiences. If there is a soul, you need to provide evidence for it because memory indicates there isn't one.

A001:
Use of the brain, fasting, meditation, sometimes pure luck.

Also, their gods and goddesses (which are deified humans or higher beings) revealed some hidden knowledge about reality to them, especially those ancient Egyptians.

That gave them some edge above their peers.

Someone said "It's typical of a white European to come to Africa, see the wondrous pyramids and claim that some otherworldly being did it or gave them the knowledge because he thinks Africans cannot do such a thing."

You should consider this, you might be buying into a racist agenda.

Righteousness2:
She Got to the Hospital and did the test. The doctor asked her like how many weeks is she pregnant ? We said maybe 2months, 4months, etc.

The Doctor was like, you are not serious ooo! He said what do you mean? Are u a child? You are almost due for Delivery.

Brethren, My wife was 9 months pregnant already! 37 weeks already!
How on Earth do you carry a baby for 9 months without knowing? One of the things that Dazed me was the mystery of her belly. From the day in December the Lord made us to know about the pregnancy, her belly began to become big.
Only GOD ALMIGHTY can Do this.

Congrats on the baby but this is not a "spiritual" mystery. There have been several women who were up to term and didn't know it, the phenomenon is even showcased on a series on cable TV.

Here is an except from WebMD:

One in 2,500 women make it all the way to labor before they understand they’re going to have a baby. That’s about three times more common than a woman’s chance of having triplets.

https://www.webmd.com/baby/features/can-you-be-pregnant-not-know-it

So special but not that special.

Wilddove:
'money is physical substance that serves physical purpose' no objections. Now who or what is God? God is a spirit being. And what does that mean? It means that God is timeless, spaceless and matterless, he is not a physical entity that should be placed in the laboratory for scientists to experiment. This implies that a spiritual substance must be involved to get to this being and that substance is FAITH. Faith is the established route to God. That was why i compared the two, (earthly) 'money' and (heavenly) 'faith'. Faith is the heavenly currency.

You cannot produce any evidence for your god so it bears no resemblance to monetary transactions. You even said it is useless to ask believers to do so, so there really is no comparison to be made with physical systems.

Wilddove:
your instinct is Totally wrong, common! to what end? Haba! Is it because it's a faceless forum, thats why you type whatever you feel

Happy to be wrong, in fact it is better that I am wrong. Indeed I typed what I felt which gave me the opportunity to be corrected. Whatever it is that is your goal, enjoy.

Nelidee:
You are right bro. Some of them are usually the first to shout Jesus! When something shocking suddenly happens like a vehicle accident or shout Oh My God! when they hear that someone they know is dead.

How can someone who doesn't believe in God or the Bible be calling Jesus for help or calling God when filled with sorrow?

Anyway, it's a good thing God is a God of Love.
When the theif nailed beside Jesus saw that his life is draining before him, that was when he realised he had to confess and put faith in Christ and his kingdom and he was saved.

You watch movies and believe them hook, line and sinker. LoLz.

Wilddove:
i'm not surprised at all, because that was exactly what some christian counterpart said when i denounced christainity. Go check my previous topics. Infact there was a point in time in my life that i was very certain that the concept of God was rubbish and man-made, How i got delivered still puzzled me, if i were'nt a real atheist before nothing would've prompted me to open my previous threads. Nevertheless it's well my sister i know you may never understand

I don't really care what you call yourself, in my opinion that is a personal choice but my intuition tells me that you are chasing clout. You didn't get it by presenting as an atheist so you hope to get it by presenting as a convert. Whatever the case may be, enjoy yourself. LoLz.