hymen:

OLAADEGBU, with all due respect I understand what you're going through . . . its honestly a psychological problem(no malice intended).

Its called delusion.

Take your time and research it.

How is works is this :

You believe everything in the world is somehow tied together in some grand conspiracy ,with you (OLADEEGBU)being a really important player in the scheme of things.

I believe you are being somewhat uncharitable here. What Oladeegbu writes is in keeping with the scriptures. There is a "grand conspiracy". The kings of the earth are conspiring against the King of kings.
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,(Psalms 2:2, KJV)
Events are hurtling towards the end of the Age. You probably need to take some time off and research it. You will be amazed at what you 'll find. Off course, those who don't want you to know this will pooh-pooh it as nothing but "conspiracy theories". How do you think the coming man of sin will gather together his armies in the plain of Meggido if not through a worldwide conspiracy that mobilizes the nations?
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(Rev 16:13,14)

@ OLADEEGBU


The beast is waiting to take over properly. The natural man can not understand spiritual things because he thinks they are foolishness. Those who think the documentary is rubbish does not understand the war between the forces of darkness and the power of light. The devil indeed is crafty. He that has an ear let him hear.

wow some really harsh stuff here by non-christians
Live and let live is my policy and that includes Christians.

OLAADEGBU:

I pretty much agree with most of what you said here but where we disagree is the fact that socialism is taking over what the founding fathers of America based their declaration on. Prayer used to be made in the executive, legislative and judiciary arms of the Government until these socialists who are essentially communists are making efforts to remove its practise. The 10 commandments used to be in all the official buildings but they have now been brought down. Prayers used to be made in the school's public assembly but this is now a thing of the past. The Bible used to be taught in schools and higher institutions but now the religion of evolutionism has now replaced it masquerading as "science" which has turned students into atheists who say they are secular humanists. Most politicians would lie that they are christians when they are not so as to get the people's votes.

Making prayer the basis of judgement is simply a sign of ignorance, yes people can pray if they want but forcing it on others is wrong and will be classed as infringement of rights. If you're a christian and God has given everyone free will, who are you to take it away?
Most of the commandments are common sense. Something i'm quite sure people will have concluded on whether or not they are christians. About the praying at school thing, i've already said that prayer has no place in government and institutional rules. There is no reason why an atheist child should pray. Evolutionism/darwinism is not a religion and even if it was, it is one based on scientific research and study which enables it to be classified as science. If adam and eve's skull are discovered in asia today, then creationism will be attached to the syllabus.

OLAADEGBU:

This is what I am saying, that evolutionists teaches you about what christianity is about. Christianity is different from what you know as religion. Puritans who were real christians could not compromise their faith and as a result had to flee to America, I don't think that you will know the difference because christianity is a relationship with God not religion as you know it. For your information, Christianity started with the disciples of Jesus and I believe you know that Jesus and his disciples were not caucasians or british as you may have been taught, they were Jews who spread Christianity to Africa and beyond, taking the Ethiopian eunuch for instance.

I've read the bible and if you dont believe that Jesus is your lord and saviour and blah blah blah, you're not christian. And only after that comes the whole relationship with God. i learnt about christianity from church (which i still go to every week) so dont patronise me.
I'm offended that you seem to believe that i think Jesus is "caucasian". why would i? i never said christianity originated from europe, i said it was introduced to america from europe, two different things.
since what i'm saying doesnt seem to be sticking with you i'll say it once again and never mention it: the majority of africans (certainly nigerians) did not embrace Christianity until French and British colonization. They worshipped idols

OLAADEGBU:

For your information, the American soldiers have chaplains representing different religious faiths, the christian soldiers in the U.S. army are entitled to a christian chaplain who is to pray for them but they can't now pray in the name of Jesus because the name of Jesus has been censored that it cannot be said even when they are praying for christian soldiers. Can they tell the muslim chaplains not to use the name of Mohammad? Your guess is as good as mine.

Then that would be a strange situation. I dont know enough about american army procedures so i cant really verify or not but as far as i'm aware, the same cant be said for Britain.

OLAADEGBU:

There is no sitting on the fence here, it is either you believe the Word of God or that you trust in the philosophies of sinful men and it is pretty obvious what choice you have made.

Wrong, there is no sitting on the fence with serving God but i dont automatically have to follow another doctrine if i choose not to believe in Christianity. I can sit on the fence for as long as it is a rational decision.

OLAADEGBU:

Christianity is different from all the religions you listed there, it is a personal living relationship with your Creator. We are meant to endeavour to know Him in a personal way as you would know your loved ones. Religion is a dead end which will not take you to the Creator but Jesus will.

religion= a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a supernatural agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
so as you can very clearly see, christianity is a religion
If Christianity was only about having a relationship with God, then i'm Christian. Every sunday i tell God that if he proved himself to Gideon, he should prove himself to me. I dont hold my breath and as you can imagine, it hasnt happened. my cotton ball is wet when it rains and dry when it doesnt.

OLAADEGBU:

Allow your conscience to answer the questions of the 10 commandments above to discover the absolute Morality and see where you stand.

I have but i dont understand what this shows

OLAADEGBU:

If you drive do you ask to see the makers of the car before you believe they exist? Why then do you ask to see God before you believe that He exists? If you really wanted to see Him in flesh and blood you would have seen Him 2,000 years ago but you arrived too late, you might have a chance if you believe Him now before you see Him. His second coming is around the corner.

I dont ask because i know if i went on google, it would no doubt tell me everything about the maker down to the name of his/her dog. The same can't be said for God so choose a better example. No one has ever seen God, they have only presumably seen Jesus who claimed to be the son of God. surely not the same thing. And no one is ever going to see him even if he did create the earth and stuff.

OLAADEGBU:

There is no doubt that people hear demons ask those who made such claims for their experiences but if you are determined to hear God you will hear Him and He speaks clearly through His Word and Spirit for true worshippers would worship Him Spirit and Truth, that is why you need to get your spirit alive so as to hear Him speak in accents clear and still.

Or you just hear your own thoughts,

OLAADEGBU:

If I want to know you personally all I need to do is to make enquiries and the same goes for your Creator, if you are willing and are determined to know Him intimately you will find Him when you seek for Him with your whole heart and mind and it is easy, simply repent from your sins and turn to Him by faith and see the Spirit of God regenerate your spirit so that you can communicate with Him on a personal level.

If you ask, you get vague descriptions about what he is but you dont get any proof (talk to him or see him) so that is moot really. I can talk all i want about an imaginary friend but that doesnt make him any less imaginary.

Who's this Analissa? I'm liking her surely!

@OLAADEGBU

Sorry I missed this earlier since I stopped following your posts. To rectify some of your more egregious errors, (this being one of them)

OLAADEGBU:

For your information, the American soldiers have chaplains representing different religious faiths, the christian soldiers in the U.S. army are entitled to a christian chaplain who is to pray for them but they can't now pray in the name of Jesus because the name of Jesus has been censored that it cannot be said even when they are praying for christian soldiers.  Can they tell the muslim chaplains not to use the name of Mohammad?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Your above conclusion is factually wrong. It may be because you got your information from biased sources.
Please review information from some of these sources or simply google the relevant keywords and check the published articles.
Here are some sources to start you off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_Chaplain_Corps#Controversies
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/29/AR2006032902207.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/a-little-history-lesson-f_b_156834.html
http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue3058.html
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=37913

The general conclusion is that in a non-sectarian setting organized by the military, the military chaplain is not allowed to appeal to any particular deity. The chaplain is free to refuse speaking at such a gathering if he feels bothered. This applies to all chaplains regardless of their religious orientation. The chaplain is free to make proclamations as he sees fit in his sectarian meetings with similarly inclined troops.

aletheia:

I believe you are being somewhat uncharitable here. What Oladeegbu writes is in keeping with the scriptures. There is a "grand conspiracy". The kings of the earth are conspiring against the King of kings.
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,(Psalms 2:2, KJV)
Events are hurtling towards the end of the Age. You probably need to take some time off and research it. You will be amazed at what you 'll find. Off course, those who don't want you to know this will pooh-pooh it as nothing but "conspiracy theories". How do you think the coming man of sin will gather together his armies in the plain of Meggido if not through a worldwide conspiracy that mobilizes the nations?
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(Rev 16:13,14)

Very correct. The mass majority don't even know that they are believing a grand conspiracy of satan to believe a lie when they have rejected the truth. When people don't believe the truth they are given over to believe a lie and this as you have said, is how the man of sin is recruiting his army that he intends to wage against the King of Kings.

dexmond:

@ OLADEEGBU

The beast is waiting to take over properly. The natural man can not understand spiritual things because he thinks they are foolishness. Those who think the documentary is rubbish does not understand the war between the forces of darkness and the power of light. The devil indeed is crafty. He that has an ear let him hear.

I can understand the plight of the atheists/skeptics but what amazes me is the level of deception and delusion of some Christians on this forum who have fallen headlong for the lies from the pit of hell.

Analissa:

wow some really harsh stuff here by non-christians
Live and let live is my policy and that includes Christians.

It is not only my wish that you live but to live more abundantly (John 10:10).

Analissa:

Making prayer the basis of judgement is simply a sign of ignorance, yes people can pray if they want but forcing it on others is wrong and will be classed as infringement of rights. If you're a christian and God has given everyone free will, who are you to take it away?
Most of the commandments are common sense. Something i'm quite sure people will have concluded on whether or not they are christians. About the praying at school thing, i've already said that prayer has no place in government and institutional rules. There is no reason why an atheist child should pray. Evolutionism/darwinism is not a religion and even if it was, it is one based on scientific research and study which enables it to be classified as science. If adam and eve's skull are discovered in asia today, then creationism will be attached to the syllabus.

God doesn't force Himself on anyone even though He created us and gave us free will, it is only proper that this freedom of speech is not taken away from those who wish to exercise it.

Analissa:

I've read the bible and if you dont believe that Jesus is your lord and saviour and blah blah blah, you're not christian. And only after that comes the whole relationship with God. i learnt about christianity from church (which i still go to every week) so dont patronise me.
I'm offended that you seem to believe that i think Jesus is "caucasian". why would i? i never said christianity originated from europe, i said it was introduced to america from europe, two different things.
since what i'm saying doesnt seem to be sticking with you i'll say it once again and never mention it: the majority of africans (certainly nigerians) did not embrace Christianity until French and British colonization. They worshipped idols

I can only blame those religious teachers who misled you into thinking that Christianity spread to Africa by the Europeans, there were many pilgrims that congregated at Jerusalem who got converted at Peter's preaching (3,000 of them) many of whom came from Africa and other parts of the then known world and remember that the Ethiopian eunuch who got converted through Philip took the gospel back to Africa.  The fact that muslim arabs overtook the northern African countries who used to be christians and forced them to become muslims under the sword does not mean that the gospel was never preached there until the European missionaries came.

Analissa:

Then that would be a strange situation. I dont know enough about american army procedures so i cant really verify or not but as far as i'm aware, the same cant be said for Britain.

It is even worse in the UK where they are contemplating passing a hate law that will make it criminal to preach that Jesus Christ is the only way, one can go to jail if one preaches that homosexuality is a sin if this law passes.  Christianity is now a minority in England whose national flag (St Georges) typifies the cross of Jesus Christ and peace.

Analissa:

Wrong, there is no sitting on the fence with serving God but i dont automatically have to follow another doctrine if i choose not to believe in Christianity. I can sit on the fence for as long as it is a rational decision.

It is a pity that some folks believe that they can sit on the fence by being politically correct but the hard truth is that there is no grey areas with God, it is simply a matter of black or white.

Analissa:

religion= a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a supernatural agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
so as you can very clearly see, christianity is a religion

I admit that part of Christianity can be said to be religious when it comes to our duty towards our neighbours but we can only do this when we have this experience with the true and living God.  Our relationship is both vertical and horizontal.  Vertical when we commune with God and horizontal when we relate with our fellow human beings, we cannot say we do the latter when we ignore the former.

Analissa:

If Christianity was only about having a relationship with God, then i'm Christian. Every sunday i tell God that if he proved himself to Gideon, he should prove himself to me. I dont hold my breath and as you can imagine, it hasnt happened. my cotton ball is wet when it rains and dry when it doesnt.

You approached your christianity the wrong way.  Christianity is first by faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).  If you are to come to God you have to come to Him by faith it is only after this that He will reward you.  Thomas who was one of Jesus' disciples was reprimanded for insisting to believe only if he sees and touches the pierced hands and side, Jesus promised that blessed are those who believe Him even though they don't see Him.  The way of the world is different from the ways of God, the way of the world is seeing is believing while the way to God is believing is seeing.  There are exceptional cases where God shows Himself to people and I will post a video clip of one who experienced this but we have a sure word of prophecy which is the Bible where we base our faith upon, God speaks to us through His Word and His Words never fails because Jesus is the Word of God that never fail.  His Word says if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you shall be saved (Romans 10:9). Take that to the bank it is a sure banker.

Analissa:

I have but i dont understand what this shows

As I said earlier, that the first 4 commandments shows our relationship towards God our Creator while the other 6 is about our relationship towards our fellow human beings.  Those questions if we answered them sincerely and consciously we would realise that we have failed one way or the other because we do not have the strength to comply with the standard set by God because of our fallen and sinful nature.  God is so holy that He cannot behold iniquity (wrong doing) for this reason He sent His only begotten Son to pay the death penalty that we owe because of our sin so that we can be reconcilled back to God as we trust in the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed.  It is this faith that we receive the impartation of God's righteousness through the Holy Spirit so that we are then free to serve God in righteousness and holiness.

Analissa:

I dont ask because i know if i went on google, it would no doubt tell me everything about the maker down to the name of his/her dog. The same can't be said for God so choose a better example. No one has ever seen God, they have only presumably seen Jesus who claimed to be the son of God. surely not the same thing. And no one is ever going to see him even if he did create the earth and stuff.

Google may not always give you the answers you want but the Bible gives you the past, present and future information that you need for this world and the one to come.   

Analissa:

Or you just hear your own thoughts,

The Words of God is capable of transforming your mind that you would begin to think the thoughts of God.

Analissa:

If you ask, you get vague descriptions about what he is but you dont get any proof (talk to him or see him) so that is moot really. I can talk all i want about an imaginary friend but that doesnt make him any less imaginary.

You might have read many things about the Queen of England but you don't know her the way her husband knows her.  To know her intimately you need to develop a living relationship with her and the same goes with God, many people might have read the Bible but not many have developed that loving, living relationship with Him.  Do you realise that knowing the author of a book would make it more interesting and easier to read and follow?

@Analissa,

Listen and watch what Afshin a former muslim, who saw the living God.

[flash=600,500]http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-8870177642686242029&hl=en&fs=true[/flash]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8870177642686242029

He Shall Judge the World

"Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth"(Psalm 96:13)

Those men and women who reject or ignore the wonderful offer of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ need somehow to realize the eternal consequences of their foolishness.  Jesus Christ was not just a religious teacher in Israel two thousand years ago, but is the very God who created them, the Second Person of the triune Godhead (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).  God the Father "created all things by Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 3:9), and therefore "hath committed all judgment unto the Son" (John 5:22).

And on what basis will He judge us? Our text tells us that "righteousness" and "truth" are the criteria.  The problem is that "there is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10).  "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4).  However, the Lord Jesus was incarnate Truth and Righteousness, and God "hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Christ has made eternal salvation available freely to us. There is no other way.  "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36).

But how do we know that all this is not just a peculiar doctrine of one particular religion?

Here is how. God "hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:31). By defeating death itself, Christ has vindicated His claim to be the Judge of all! HMM

For more . . . .

thehomer:

@OLAADEGBU

Sorry I missed this earlier since I stopped following your posts. To rectify some of your more egregious errors, (this being one of them)

Your above conclusion is factually wrong. It may be because you got your information from biased sources.
Please review information from some of these sources or simply google the relevant keywords and check the published articles.
Here are some sources to start you off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_Chaplain_Corps#Controversies
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/29/AR2006032902207.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/a-little-history-lesson-f_b_156834.html
http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue3058.html
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=37913

The general conclusion is that in a non-sectarian setting organized by the military, the military chaplain is not allowed to appeal to any particular deity. The chaplain is free to refuse speaking at such a gathering if he feels bothered. This applies to all chaplains regardless of their religious orientation. The chaplain is free to make proclamations as he sees fit in his sectarian meetings with similarly inclined troops.

I decided to have a look at your links for the first time since I could not be bothered to check up your anti christian links, and let me quote one of them:

"For Christian chaplains, closing their prayers in the name of Jesus is a fundamental part of their beliefs," Jones said in a statement. "To suppress this form of expression would violate their religious freedom."

No hearings have been scheduled yet on the bill, which has attracted former presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R.-Texas, and Rep. Christopher Smith, R.-N.J., as co-sponsors.

Jones said he regularly has received complaints from officers and chaplains about such restraints.

Among them is a Marine officer who recounted a chaplain's statement that he and others had been asked not to mention Christ. Jones' office quoted the Marine officer as saying, "This startles and frightens me that our faith is being infringed upon, even within our own military."

An army chaplain told Jones' office that he experienced opposition during his basic chaplain course when a Christian group leader ridiculed him for praying in Jesus' name and suggesting he would have an altar call during his services.

"Both of these things ,  are part of my religious tradition," the chaplain said. "Additionally, [the leader] said, it is offensive to pray in the name of Jesus and is against Army policy to do so."

http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue3058.html

This shows how Christianity has been criminalized in the US navy when they begin to say that public worship is not worshipping in public and they begin to censor the contents of the chaplains' prayers.

OLAADEGBU:

I decided to have a look at your links for the first time since I could not be bothered to check up your anti christian links, and let me quote one of them:
http://www.christiantelegraph.com/issue3058.html

"Anti-Christian" links? Of course since they do not support your previous view, they must be wrong. Since it's the Christian Telegraph that you like, I guess you did not read the article properly. Though they tried to minimize the truth, it was at least still there.

From the 14th paragraph,

While chaplains perform religious ceremonies in the context of their faith group and in accordance with those traditions, Lainez said they are often invited to participate in command-sponsored events. In such cases, there is an expectation that they will understand how to balance that privilege with the beliefs of those attending so "the event is as inclusive as possible," Lainez said.

Lainez is the spokesperson for the Department of Defence

From the 17th paragraph,

"We do, however, ask chaplains to be sensitive to the occasion and sensitive to the presence of people from other faith groups. If a chaplain should feel uncomfortable praying in an interfaith setting, he or she can decline to do so with no penalty whatsoever."

by Capt. Michael Andrews who was speaking for the US Air Force

OLAADEGBU:

This shows how Christianity has been criminalized in the US navy when they begin to say that public worship is not worshipping in public and they begin to censor the contents of the chaplains' prayers.

Like I said, it shows no such thing. Read through that article properly and understand what the various military spokespersons were saying. I've already summarized it.
Also, it is not a good idea to get all your information from one source if you actually want to get accurate information. You would do well to also review the other articles on the same topic. The links are there.

Obama shouldn`t be presidnet, they need a US person will be better[img]http://s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=ffffff/txt=ffffff/border=ffffff/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]

thehomer:

"Anti-Christian" links? Of course since they do not support your previous view, they must be wrong. Since it's the Christian Telegraph that you like, I guess you did not read the article properly. Though they tried to minimize the truth, it was at least still there.
From the 14th paragraph,

Did you read about the complaints of the chaplains affected at all?

thehomer:

Lainez is the spokesperson for the Department of Defence
From the 17th paragraph,

You don't just read about the political correctness by the army's spokesperson try and read about the persons affected starting from the 1st paragraph.

thehomer:

by Capt. Michael Andrews who was speaking for the US Air Force

While the so called captain is concerned about the rights of others not to hear the name of Christ what about the rights of the chaplains to use the name of Christ to end his prayer, where is the freedom of speech in that?

thehomer:

Like I said, it shows no such thing. Read through that article properly and understand what the various military spokespersons were saying. I've already summarized it.

This problem would always arise when one religion (secular humanists) are allowed to force their own dogma down the throat of others. When the government says that in the name of inclusiveness that no deity or name should be mentioned but that they are only allowed to pray generic prayers to no one, who's interest do you think they are serving if not theirs (secular humanists) alone?

thehomer:

Also, it is not a good idea to get all your information from one source if you actually want to get accurate information. You would do well to also review the other articles on the same topic. The links are there.

Other articles only confirm what I have said earlier, anything else is just the usual denials and "PC" to pull wool over the eyes of the likes of you and Martian who would only get confused when confronted with the facts.

Martian:

You live in England, how do you know the American military policies so well Lol I serve in the military and everything you wrote about the military is total and utter bullsh@t, just like everything you post.
And please stop posting cartoons, they are really silly.

Did you see the links posted by your fellow atheist about the American policy you claimed didn't exist? Don't you see how you ridicule yourself when you don't even know what is going on under your nose in the army? and that is if you truly are in the American army.

@OLAADEGBU
Ride on. Let the 'I too know' continue to bother himself in vain. It seems hes really obsessed with you and loves following ur threads and posts

toba:

@OLAADEGBU
Ride on. Let the 'I too know' continue to bother himself in vain. It seems hes really obsessed with you and loves following your threads and posts

We can only pray for him to find what is missing in his heart because it seems that his conscience would not let him rest until he discovers the Truth that will fill that gap.

OLAADEGBU:

Did you read about the complaints of the chaplains affected at all?

Did you read what the chaplains did?

OLAADEGBU:

You don't just read about the political correctness by the army's spokesperson try and read about the persons affected starting from the 1st paragraph.

It's not political correctness, it's the law of the land. The state is not supposed to support any particular religion. Praying to a particular deity in such a mixed setting, implies that the US Military endorses that particular religion.

OLAADEGBU:

While the so called captain is concerned about the rights of others not to hear the name of Christ what about the rights of the chaplains to use the name of Christ to end his prayer, where is the freedom of speech in that?

The chaplain is free to do that in a gathering of like minded believers. It's right there in the articles. He is also free to decline such an offer.

OLAADEGBU:

This problem would always arise when one religion (secular humanists) are allowed to force their own dogma down the throat of others. When the government says that in the name of inclusiveness that no deity or name should be mentioned but that they are only allowed to pray generic prayers to no one, who's interest do you think they are serving if not theirs (secular humanists) alone?

The government is supposed to be neutral to religion. Secular humanism is not a religion. There are no revered beings neither are there revered texts that seem to dominate religious organizations.

OLAADEGBU:

Other articles only confirm what I have said earlier, anything else is just the usual denials and "PC" to pull wool over the eyes of the likes of you and Martian who would only get confused when confronted with the facts.

Well now who is confused about the facts, even after summary and evidence have been presented? It seems you are confused about what you read.

OLAADEGBU:

It is not only my wish that you live but to live more abundantly (John 10:10).

Thanks

OLAADEGBU:

God doesn't force Himself on anyone even though He created us and gave us free will, it is only proper that this freedom of speech is not taken away from those who wish to exercise it.

If God doesnt force himself on anyone then why should Christians try to force him on others? By integrating prayer into legislation, you would be forcing God on those who don't believe in him. Sure you can excercise your freedom of speech but others should also be able to excercise it by telling you to get out of their face. It is only fair. Besides i notice that most Christians only believe in freedom of speech when it serves their purpose. When used against them it is suddenly a 'hate attack'.

OLAADEGBU:

I can only blame those religious teachers who misled you into thinking that Christianity spread to Africa by the Europeans, there were many pilgrims that congregated at Jerusalem who got converted at Peter's preaching (3,000 of them) many of whom came from Africa and other parts of the then known world and remember that the Ethiopian eunuch who got converted through Philip took the gospel back to Africa. The fact that muslim arabs overtook the northern African countries who used to be christians and forced them to become muslims under the sword does not mean that the gospel was never preached there until the European missionaries came.

I hope you will pardon me if i ignore this part. I've already made my stance on this clear, repeating it would be like speaking to a wall; a waste of time.

OLAADEGBU:

It is even worse in the UK where they are contemplating passing a hate law that will make it criminal to preach that Jesus Christ is the only way, one can go to jail if one preaches that homosexuality is a sin if this law passes. Christianity is now a minority in England whose national flag (St Georges) typifies the cross of Jesus Christ and peace.

The links posted by thehomer has made made your arguement about army chaplains null. Unless you wish to provide evidence that counters his.
Its funny that you call it a hate law now, i can't help but wonder if you would think the same if it became a punishable crime to be atheist or deist.
And as for the homosexuality law, i feel no sympathy. My motto as i've mentioned is 'live and let live' meaning i live my life how i want and anyone else can live theirs how they wish as well. If i disagree with homosexuality, it doesnt give me the right to judge and persecute homosexual people. Preaching that homosexuality is a sin is judging them and persecuting them even if you think you are doing them a favour and bringing them closer to God. I'm sure every gay person knows that according to Christianity it is a sin, you telling them will make no difference.

OLAADEGBU:

It is a pity that some folks believe that they can sit on the fence by being politically correct but the hard truth is that there is no grey areas with God, it is simply a matter of black or white.

By sitting on the fence, i'm not being politically correct, i'm being what i want to be. I will not be pushed into blind agreement and neither will i be pushed into what i see as blind disagreement. I mentioned in an earlier post that there is no middle ground with God and you've merely rephrased it. In the eyes of God and Christianity and most other religions i'm a sinner, unquestionably, but that doesn't automatically mean i'm atheist. I might be deist, there's a lot of middle ground before atheism. And whether you like it or not, it is a middle ground.

OLAADEGBU:

I admit that part of Christianity can be said to be religious when it comes to our duty towards our neighbours but we can only do this when we have this experience with the true and living God. Our relationship is both vertical and horizontal. Vertical when we commune with God and horizontal when we relate with our fellow human beings, we cannot say we do the latter when we ignore the former.

Look no amount of dressing it up will make it into what it's not. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck. The fact that someone puts clothes on it won't make it human.

OLAADEGBU:

You approached your christianity the wrong way. Christianity is first by faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). If you are to come to God you have to come to Him by faith it is only after this that He will reward you. Thomas who was one of Jesus' disciples was reprimanded for insisting to believe only if he sees and touches the pierced hands and side, Jesus promised that blessed are those who believe Him even though they don't see Him. The way of the world is different from the ways of God, the way of the world is seeing is believing while the way to God is believing is seeing. There are exceptional cases where God shows Himself to people and I will post a video clip of one who experienced this but we have a sure word of prophecy which is the Bible where we base our faith upon, God speaks to us through His Word and His Words never fails because Jesus is the Word of God that never fail. His Word says if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you shall be saved (Romans 10:9). Take that to the bank it is a sure banker.

We seem to be rushing ahead of ourselves here. Lets get one thing straight; i am not Christian.
Now lets move on. According to hebrews faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, right? Then the way i see it, if i hoped that my cotton would be wet on a dry day that would be having faith, wouldn't it? well if after hoping nothing happens doesnt that mean it can't happen? If it can't happen by faith then what else? The disciples got plenty of evidence while he was alive and had enough reason to believe he could come back from the dead. I, unfortunately, don't have that priviledge as the only thing i have ever asked for has been denied every single time. 13x52= 676. I have asked 676 times and have been denied 676 times and counting.

OLAADEGBU:

As I said earlier, that the first 4 commandments shows our relationship towards God our Creator while the other 6 is about our relationship towards our fellow human beings. Those questions if we answered them sincerely and consciously we would realise that we have failed one way or the other because we do not have the strength to comply with the standard set by God because of our fallen and sinful nature. God is so holy that He cannot behold iniquity (wrong doing) for this reason He sent His only begotten Son to pay the death penalty that we owe because of our sin so that we can be reconcilled back to God as we trust in the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed. It is this faith that we receive the impartation of God's righteousness through the Holy Spirit so that we are then free to serve God in righteousness and holiness.

All this proves to me is that if God did create us, he created us imperfect deliberately so he could watch as Christtians strive to achieve perfection and laugh. Why bother creating us and then setting standards we can never attain knowing that we could never attain it? pointless, or sadistic.

OLAADEGBU:

Google may not always give you the answers you want but the Bible gives you the past, present and future information that you need for this world and the one to come.

Difference being that google while not 100% right all the time can generally be relied on as the truth. The Bible is questionable, like wikipedia really, the content depends on the author and the author isn't necessarily right.

OLAADEGBU:

The Words of God is capable of transforming your mind that you would begin to think the thoughts of God.

Or you could just believe that to justify the reason you think your thoughts are God.
Is this a physical, chemical or purely pychological transformation? Is there any difference in chemical transmitters? brain shape? function? is a new hemisphere added? Please explain, i'm curious.

OLAADEGBU:

You might have read many things about the Queen of England but you don't know her the way her husband knows her. To know her intimately you need to develop a living relationship with her and the same goes with God, many people might have read the Bible but not many have developed that loving, living relationship with Him. Do you realise that knowing the author of a book would make it more interesting and easier to read and follow?

Firstly, i'm quite positive that i do not want to know her the way her husband does. Secondly, if i googled it i could see the face of dear old lizzie. Even if i don't know her, i know of her and i can clearly see she exists. Bad analogy.
And did you know that reading a book from the author's point of view is tediously boring as it limits the imagination of the reader? It's like watching a movie really, yes it's easier to follow but its also limiting because i can't imagine how i want things to look. They are already a certain way, a way i can't change.

OLAADEGBU:

@Analissa,

Listen and watch what Afshin a former muslim, who saw the living God.

So? Would you believe me if i said i saw the real Elvis Presley yesterday? Or if i said i saw michael jackson?

I thought not

@ OLAADEGBU

Consider this story. Let me know what you think about it.

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/08/19/u-s-soldiers-punished-for-not-attending-christian-concert/

Do you think the soldiers should be forced to attend religious concerts?

@thehomer,

And what makes you think that 'am going to waste my time checking your suggested link.

OLAADEGBU:

@thehomer,

And what makes you think that 'am going to waste my time checking your suggested link.

If you're interested, I'll paste the story here. The summary is right below it. Anyway, here's the story. Happy reading.

[size=14pt]U.S. Soldiers Punished for Not Attending Christian Concert[/size]

On May 13, 2010, about eighty soldiers, stationed at Fort Eustis while attending a training course, were punished for opting out of attending one of these Christian concerts. The headliner at this concert was a Christian rock band called BarlowGirl, a band that describes itself as taking “an aggressive, almost warrior-like stance when it comes to spreading the gospel and serving God.”

Any doubt that this was an evangelical Christian event was cleared up by the Army post’s newspaper, the Fort Eustis Wheel, which ran an article after the concert that began:

    “Following the Apostle Paul’s message to the Ephesians in the Bible, Christian rock music’s edgy, all-girl band BarlowGirl brought the armor of God to the warriors and families of Fort Eustis during another installment of the Commanding General’s Spiritual Fitness Concert Series May 13 at Jacobs Theater.”

The father of the three Barlow sisters who make up the band was also quoted in the article, saying, “We really believe that to be a Christian in today’s world, you have to be a warrior, and we feel very blessed and privileged that God has given us the tool to deliver His message and arm His army.”

A few days later, some of the soldiers punished for choosing not to attend this concert contacted the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). The following is from the account sent by one of those soldiers to MRFF, detailing what transpired that night.

    “The week prior to the event the [unit name and NCO's name withheld] informed us of a Christian rock event that was about to take place on Thursday the 13th.

    “On Thursday 13th at 1730 we were informed that instead of being dismissed for the day, the entire company (about 250 soldiers) would march as a whole to the event. Not only that, but to make sure that everyone is present we were prohibited from going back to the barracks (to eliminate the off chance that some might ‘hide’ in their rooms and not come back down).

    “We were marched as a whole to chow and were instructed to reform outside the dining facility. A number of soldiers were disappointed and restless. Several of us were of different faith or belief. A couple were particularly offended (being of Muslim faith) and started considering to disobey the order.

    “From the dining facility we were marched back to the company area. There was a rumor circulating that we may be given a choice later on to fall out or attend. Though it was only a rumor it was also a small hope enough to allow us to follow along a little longer before choosing to become disobedient. We were marched back to the company area. To our dismay there was still no sign of as having a choice.

    “We started marching to the theater. At that point two Muslim soldiers fell out of formation on their own. Student leadership tried to convince them to fall back in and that a choice will be presented to us once we reach the theater.

    “At the theater we were instructed to split in two groups; those that want to attend versus those that don’t. At that point what crossed my mind is the fact that being given an option so late in the game implies that the leadership is attempting to make a point about its intention. The ‘body language’ was suggesting that ‘we marched you here as a group to give you a clue that we really want you to attend (we tilt the table and expect you to roll in our direction), now we give you the choice to either satisfy us or disappoint us.’ A number of soldiers seemed to notice these clues and sullenly volunteered for the concert in fear of possible consequences.

    “Those of us that chose not to attend (about 80, or a little less that half) were marched back to the company area. At that point the NCO issued us a punishment. We were to be on lock-down in the company (not released from duty), could not go anywhere on post (no PX, no library, etc). We were to go to strictly to the barracks and contact maintenance. If we were caught sitting in our rooms, in our beds, or having/handling electronics (cell phones, laptops, games) and doing anything other than maintenance, we would further have our weekend passes revoked and continue barracks maintenance for the entirety of the weekend. At that point the implied message was clear in my mind ‘we gave you a choice to either satisfy us or disappoint us. Since you chose to disappoint us you will now have your freedoms suspended and contact chores while the rest of your buddies are enjoying a concert.’

    “At that evening, nine of us chose to pursue an EO complaint. I was surprised to find out that a couple of the most offended soldiers were actually Christian themselves (Catholic). One of them was grown as a child in Cuba and this incident enraged him particularly as it brought memories of oppression.”

The account of another soldier who did not attend the concert, which relates the same sequence of events and punishment that occurred, also adds that some of the soldiers who did decide to attend only did so due to pressure from their superiors and fear of repercussions.

    “At the theater is the first time our options were presented to us. And they were presented to us in a way that seemed harmless, we could either go to the show, or go to the barracks. But at that point, I felt pressured. As a person, I know that I can’t be pressured into anything, I’m much stronger than that. But I also know that a lot of people aren’t that strong, and that pressure was present. I could hear people saying, ‘I don’t know about going back to the barracks, that sounds suspicious, I’m going to go ahead and go to the show’ and many things that sounded a lot like that. Now, like I said, I don’t get pressured into things, but I also don’t think that anybody should have to feel that kind of pressure. Making somebody feel that pressure is a violation of human rights, we are allowed to think what we want about religion and not have to feel pressured into doing things, and at that moment there was definitely pressure to go to that concert simply because people don’t want to have their free time taken away.”

The Commanding General’s Spiritual Fitness Concert Series was the brainchild of Maj. Gen. James E. Chambers, who, according to an article on the Army.mil website, “was reborn as a Christian” at the age of sixteen. According to the article, Chambers held the first concert at Fort Lee within a month of becoming the commanding general of the Combined Arms Support Command and Fort Lee in June 2008. But he had already started the series at Fort Eustis, as the previous commanding general there. The concerts have continued at Fort Eustis under the new commanding general, as well as spreading to Fort Lee under Maj. Gen. Chambers. The concerts are also promoted to the airmen on Langley Air Force Base, which is now part of Joint Base Langley-Eustis.

In the Army.mil article, Maj. Gen. Chambers was quoted as saying, “The idea is not to be a proponent for any one religion. It’s to have a mix of different performers with different religious backgrounds.” But there has been no “mix of different performers with different religious backgrounds” at these concerts. Every one of them has had evangelical Christian performers, who typically not only perform their music but give their Christian testimony and read from the Bible in between songs.

Another problem with these concerts, besides the issues like soldiers being punished for choosing not to attend them, is that they are run by the commanders, and not the chaplains’ offices. It is absolutely permissible for a chaplain’s office to put on a Christian concert. It is not permissible for the command to put on a Christian concert, or any other religious event. Having a religious concert series that is actually called and promoted as a Commanding General’s Concert Series is completely over the top.

And then there’s the cost. These concerts aren’t just small events with local Christian bands. We’re talking about the top, nationally known, award-winning Christian artists, with headline acts costing anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000, and even many of the opening acts being in the $10,000 range.

The cost of these concerts led MRFF’s research department to start looking at some of the DoD contracts for other “spiritual fitness” events and programs, and what we found was astounding. One contract, for example, awarded to an outside consulting firm to provide “spiritual fitness” services, was for $3.5 million.

MRFF was already aware that exorbitant amounts of DoD funding were going to the hiring of civilian religious employees by military installations, the expenses of religious (almost exclusively evangelical Christian) programs, and extravagant religious facilities, but the extent of this spending goes far beyond what we had initially thought it amounted to. Therefore, MRFF has decided to launch an investigation into exactly how much the military is spending on promoting religion.

Do the recently announced plans of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to trim defense spending include any trimming of the military’s outrageous spending on the promoting of religion and evangelizing of our troops? This alone could save the DoD untold millions every year, and go a long way towards upholding our Constitution at the same time.

So do you think the soldiers should be forced to attend these concerts?

Like the Most High
August 23, 2010

"I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:14)

These are two of the "I will's" of Satan--or Lucifer--as he aspired to usurp the throne of God as ruler of the universe (see Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:11-17). Not content to be "the anointed cherub," the highest of the angelic hierarchy (Ezekiel 28:14), he wanted to be God, and this monstrous pride became "the condemnation of the devil," (1 Timothy 3:6), so that he is now "fallen from heaven," and will soon be "brought down to hell," (Isaiah 14:12, 15).

Lucifer, of course, is not the Creator, for he was "created," (Ezekiel 28:15) himself. It would seem therefore that for him to rationalize his ambition to be like the most High, he must somehow persuade himself that he is like the most High--that is, that God is a created being like himself, and thus can be defeated. He only had God's word that he had been created by Him, and he evidently chose not to believe what God said (just as do multitudes of men and women today).

He, like they, chose rather to believe that the eternal cosmos had somehow created them all by its own powers. The great cosmos (call it Mother Nature, perhaps) has "created," spirit beings, as well as men and women, and all the worlds inhabited by them. In this scenario, the true Creator God is viewed as only one of many. Therefore He is vulnerable to defeat--or so Satan evidently believes.

Thus Lucifer became the first evolutionist, and this great lie by which he deceived himself became the basis of his later deception of Eve and then of the founders of all the varied pantheistic religions of the world, as well as modern evolutionism and "New Age" philosophies. Nevertheless, God is still on His throne, and "the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings" (Revelation 17:14). HMM

For more . . . .

The man who fooled the world.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f66oHIND8Y