₦airaland Forum

The Race for PDP presidential candidacy

I am asking this question because of late IBB seems to have won the support of many powerful PDP members and
with the threat that Arewa Consultative Forum has made by way of protests vote should the PDP go ahead to field jonathan.

I personally believe Jonathan has an edge over IBB but politics is not mathematics IBB is powerful and smart he just might have one trick off his sleeve to beat Jonathan to the race.

What do you think? Jonathan or IBB as Nigeria's next elected preseident (i am assuming that the other parties are no match for PDP)

Poster,

I am glad you posted this topic as I have an article on my blog for this topic;

You can read the article here at;

http://lagosbusinesses..com/2009/10/real-life-examples-of-students-making.html

Hope you will find it useful

@solosimple,

remember to look before leaping

Since when did criticizing false prophets become an offence?

As for those arguing that others are jobless for starting or commenting on this thread, they too should shun joblessness by not commenting on this thread.

O.P

Good of you to start this thread, I don't really feel sorry for some people who get fleeced by these 'gods of men' because they have been warned many times and are still being warned.

It is only proper that you make your views on this topic known about the injustice some people perpetrate in God's name while still expecting every person to remain quiet and look the other way.

A wise saying goes "evil thrives because a few good men choose not to speak up"

However, let's be cautious about the way we criticize these charlatans so as not to mislead good natured people into thinking you have something against them.

@ all,

kindly enlighten me about real estate opportunities in Lagos and environs. What kind of investments are open to what sort of people as well as the expected returns etc.

It has just been reported on NTA news that Segun Oni has been duly elected.

@naijacutee

You are very wrong to say money is just a piece of paper. It is a medium (immaterial) of exchange, a store of value and a measure of quality. Clearly money cannot be seen, however it can be represented with objects such as cash, bonds, bills of exchange and what have you.

Now to the topic money to me means a means of satisfying wants or solving problems. It is a universal measure of economic goods and services, a reflection of how much value is added to an economy and a determinant of commerce.

@nuclearboy

Truly an "educated" response.

Today April 25, 2009 marks the commencement of the eyo festival, a cultural event marked annually in Lagos. This year's edition is different from other editions because not only has it received massive media attention, it is also sponsored in full by the Lagos state government its been quite a while since any such thing happened. In addition this year's edition is dedicated to the memory of late TOS Benson, the first Attorney General of Lagos state and a massive supporter of the festival during his life time.

The monthly environmental sanitation has been canceled to encourage Lagosians and tourists from all over the world to witness unhindered the event and even further transportation to the main venue for the festival TBS (Tafawa Balewa Square) is free from all parts of the metropolis through the Lagos State operated Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) service.

The major challenges with attending an event of this magnitude will be security although the Lagos state Government has assured that maximum security will be provided for all intending to participate or witness the festival. But time and again the Isale eko thugs (Area Boys) have demonstrated that even with uniformed security men on duty that they could easily have their way.

However, the eyo festival an ancient festival which is culturally rich and unique is a must see for adventure seekers and people intending to accustom themselves with the lifestyle of indigenous Lagosians (Awon omo eko).

Happy eyo festival day.


www.business-travel-nigeria.com

Hello all,

I will like to introduce business-travel-nigeria.com.

It is an online guide to travelling to Nigeria or doing business with or in Nigeria.

If you live outside Nigeria visit www.business-travel-nigeria.com to post any peculiar problems or information you wish to have attended to relating to business or travel to Nigeria.

Also you could project your business, products or services to a global audience.

Thank you.

Paul

@ huxley

Hmmm. Please help me out what do you think?

fyneguy:
If you actually said it's God's ''wish'' for all men to prosper, and went on to say prosperity hinders souls from being saved, then you are a confused christian.

I won't like to waste my precious time responding to your contradictions and confusion anymore.

like the wise saying goes "even a fool thinks he is wise", however the Lord knows those that are His. Hypocrites misrepresenting contrarian views.

@ fyneguy


At least your epistle of human foolishness is far more 'deceptive' and foolish than the one you misrepresented. (Talk of kettle calling pot black. Wonders shall never cease).


You have hypocritically misrepresented my views as one stating that Christians are meant to be poor when I clearly stated in part I that it is God's wish for all men to prosper (in health, wealth and what have you).


Go on with your false teachings (word of faith) and like someone stated, the Lord knows those that are His.

How to identify a false prophet


I define a false prophet as anyone who proclaims himself a servant of God but whose works clearly betray his vocation in God’s vineyard. He would be someone who takes it upon himself to teach messages that are not from God, preach false doctrines or even deceive many with lying signs and wonders.


2 Peter 2:1-3 explains false prophets to be “people who introduce destructive heresies and deny the Master who has ransomed them (Jesus Christ)”……, “in their greed they will exploit you with fabrications”. Underline the following;

1. Introduce destructive heresies

2. Deny the Master who ransomed them (Jesus Christ)

3. Greedily exploit people with fabrications (lies including lying signs and wonders AKA stage managed miracles).


To start with the work of God in the very least is a vocation (work done for altruistic or humanitarian purposes rather than for income) but is more than that. It is a call to obey the voice of God in all ramifications of one’s life. Anyone can work in the Lord’s vineyard but the peak of serving God is proclaiming his word in our lives through our actions (not stealing, lying, fornicating or being involved in sexual immorality, evil ambitions, drunkenness, sloth, murder and a host of others). However there is the need to instruct, teach and implore the young (Titus 2:1-9) hence the reason we have elders in the faith (priests, pastors, bishops, deacons and others) whose duty is to encourage others in their walk with Christ and service to their fellow man. However not everyone can hold such esteemed positions as there are certain criteria required for such positions (1 Timothy 3: 1-13). These days we find a situation in which some people behave as if the call to serve God is their exclusive preserve and they make the most of this by delegating duties among the faithful in a very self serving way.


The first sign of a false prophet is with his introduction (by way of revelation) of destructive heresies. In Christianity there is a list of so many heresies that have been taught through out history, however in modern times the most influential of these have been word of faith and prosperity theologies. These teachings contradict the word of God in so many ways. For instance Christ asked “what shall it profit a man to gain the world yet lose his soul?” word of faith and prosperity theologies teach that poverty is of the devil and that every true believer (with faith) has no business with poverty. The danger in this is that so called Christians might begin to think that the pursuit of wealth is as important as their salvation which is not true. Christ taught us to store up treasures where neither moth nor thief could break or pilfer into. We are also faced with the problem of Christians being made to believe nonsensical teachings like


The second sign of a false prophet is through his denial of the Master (Jesus Christ). False prophets deny Jesus Christ by understating his importance in the lives of Christians. For instance Chris Oyakhilome has in times past emphasized the fact that Jesus Christ had to become born again by dying spiritually and physically in hell in order to redeem mankind from her sinfulness. This is despite the fact that most people become born again before receiving baptism whereas Jesus had his baptism before his crucifixion (assuming Jesus’ example is a model for all Christians). That notwithstanding the status of the Master is diminished if He is portrayed as one who sinned like all men not stating the fact that John 1 describes him as the Word made flesh. If Christ is the Word who was God and through him all things were made, can he possibly be as sinful as man himself needing redemption (since he had to become born again)?

More over the self proclaimed preacher is equated to Christ although in a subtle way. The preacher’s word is easily substituted with christ’s words. When Christ proclaims that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven even that a camel will easily pass through the eye of a niddle, the preacher implies that no true Christian has any business with poverty, thus making the love for riches a part of the ‘Christian faith’. The preacher states that we are meant to be successful (in material terms), Christ tells us to store up treasures for ourselves in heaven.


The third and final sign of a false prophet is with his use of greed induced fabrications. These are lies told to mislead the gullible or possibly God fearing people to part with their possessions. These lies include using stage managed miracles to create false hope for faithless and gullible people. Other lies that could be told include the use of false testimonies to mislead or deceive people into believing that God is a ‘miracle’ working God. The miracles Jesus Christ and his apostles worked were verifiable, if any so called miracles remain unverifiable especially when it is at the instance of the stage managers, then such miracles are fake and that is exactly what we have with ‘Christ’ Embassy.


Concluded

The teaching method and motive behind his teaching style (Part II)


The teaching method of Chris Oyakhilome is a very crafty and effective method. It involves the use of cunning and calculation because he knows when and how to speak to his audience in order to perfect his art of persuading them. The results are outstanding judging by the way his followers fiercely defend him even without justification.


The method involves four steps which are;


1. grabbing the attention of the audience

2. Enticing the audience with suspense

3. Motivating the audience

4. Suggesting an idea or opinion to the audience


To teach with this method you need to understand human thinking, attitudes and interests. His teaching method is designed to persuade people especially those with spiritual and psychological weaknesses (the desperate, fearful, insecure, ignorant, ego centric, deprived, greedy and selfish). This is especially seen by the fact that his messages always provoke an emotional and not a rational response from its listeners (propaganda) which is the ideal situation for implanting new ideas, philosophies or doctrines into a large number of people simultaneously.


The basic fact you should comprehend is that most people form opinions based on what they see and hear (observe) and not after thorough analysis. As a result they generally have limited perceptions of facts or truth which means new insights (which come from thorough analysis or intuition) appear to them as ‘revelation’ which in turn gives the impression that the one with such ‘revelation’ hears or receives new messages divinely.
Oyakhilome’s teaching method starts with an introduction to his intended message in which he explains the relevance and the need of the message to its listeners. For instance if his message is titled ‘how to make your faith work’ he will explain why you need to make your faith work and especially show what you might gain or miss by doing or not doing so. The idea behind doing this is to ‘sell’ the benefits of the message to the intended audience (especially viewers at home). The so called benefits will naturally keep the viewer or listener glued to his message.


Then comes the main part which is to shield his intention from his audience, he achieves this by delving deep into the heart of the message. It is during this part that he quotes scriptures to justify some ideas he introduces or intends to introduce later in his ‘sermon’. During this part he might motivate his audience with mild praises by saying things like “I will never be broke in my life” which he would naturally ask his audience to chorus. He will equally assert inspirational speeches such as “no one can stop you, this is your season: it is your time”. This stage of his brainwashing covers the eyes of the listeners by inspiring them to the point of not knowing the exact message being taught. The ability to discern truth from fiction is greatly affected when people are distracted. That is exactly what happens when he motivates his audience.


But his real intention for motivating his audience is to encourage them to spend their money on his various merchandise (sow seeds, pay tithes, buy any of his customized products, support different aspects of his business such as partnership programmes among others). Chris oyakhilome knows that people only spend their money either due to necessity or motivation (pride of ownership, fear of loss, security and protection, convenience and comfort, desire for gain, emotional satisfaction) it becomes obvious that by motivating people to believe such things as divine health, prosperity especially financial prosperity, earthly domination, chris is trying to make his listeners ‘invest’ (sow seed, pay tithes and support his ministry –actually himself and his cohorts) in his so called work for God. Therefore money is the real reason behind his preaching style and it is obtained using false and deceptive means (propaganda, heresy) to persuade his listeners. However because brainwashing is used, another added benefit of his preaching method is self promotion and adulation from his followers. His followers will naturally feel refreshed after listening to his sermons and will naturally see him as the source of their refreshment.


The final stage of his teaching style is the implanting or suggestion of an idea or opinion that is anything but selfless. For instance chris would proclaim that a true born again Christian shouldn’t lack, experience sickness or misery because he/she is greater than his problems or the ‘people of the world’. This idea is powerful if it is accepted by the gullible listener because it makes him see him/herself as being superior in virtually every way to his problems (most of which are self inflicted any way) such as financial problems, illnesses, strife etc and to the so called 'people of the world '. Without realising it anyone believing this Joke is living in delusion.

With or without this claim if any proponent of word of faith falls ill or finds himself in hospital, in debt or misery, I hope chris oyakhilome will have some reasonable explanation to give and not blame it on lack of faith, sin or ill fortune. Obviously people of many faiths including unbelievers and atheists suffer and enjoy the same things (poverty or wealth, sickness or health, prosperity etc). Clearly 'faith' has nothing to do with all that.


End of part II


Part III will conclude with my personal opinions on who a false prophet is and how chris oyakhilome fits the bill

Whether the worshipers of chris oyakhilome like it or not a fraudster like himself will be identified by his fruits.

The false teachings of Chris Oyakhilome (part I)


In this article we shall observe two of the numerous teachings of chris oyakhilome and come to see why these teachings are false. All of the lessons studied here are taken from his television programme pastor chris teachings. Scripture implores us to rebuke false teachings, correct faults and to teach the truth via scripture (2 Timothy 3: 16 -17). Hence God’s work doesn’t suffer if a so called ‘man of God’ is being scrutinized or criticized provided the medium of scrutiny is scriptural and godly.


First let it be known that chris oyakhilome is a proponent of word of faith which is a false and heretical theology. The theology among other things teaches divine health (that no born again Christian can ever fall ill or if ill will recover from his/her illness by merely confessing his/her healing which they call faith), prosperity and all round success for every believer and the idea that Jesus Christ had to become born gain in order to atone for mankind’s sins. The problems with this theology are that;


1. It makes so called Christians less godly since they suddenly become materialistic and mammon worshiping contrary to what is expected of true Christians like Christ demanded from his followers in particular the need to love their fellow men unconditionally.

2. Heightens superstition and ignorance

3. Causes believers to live their lives on appearances

4. Promotes the self styled preacher or faith healer rather than God.

Over a period of 6 weeks I have studied the preaching style (which is brainwashing accomplished by cleverly twisting known Christian precepts to propagate worldly values) and messages of chris oyakhilome and have come to understand the implications and strength of his teachings namely; the need to persuade people to think and act in a self serving way, the need to permanently pin down subjects and the need to self promote. On one hand this might seem to be a difficult task to accomplish but in reality, after mesmerizing people at the initial stage, the rest of the entrapment becomes easy to accomplish. The very essence of chris oyakhilome’s teaching is to profit at the expense of ‘faith fools’ whom naturally having believed his initial jokes about salvation, divine health and all round success will be brain washed to the point of rejecting the truth outright even when it stares them in the face. Bare this in mind chris oyakhilome and his adherents sadly fall into the class of people Paul described in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 that is preferring pleasure ( prosperity usually in the form of riches, paradise or more appropriately sickness free, problem free and comfort filled life of material abundance) to God, which is exactly what mammon worship is all about. This is just one of the effects of his word of faith theology on its proponents. However reality clearly shows that in as much as God desires all his children to be prosperous, he his more interested in them keeping his commandment and teaching and imploring others to do same.


First message to be scrutinized is titled Christ consciousness. In this message, chris tries to make people believe that the essence of being conscious of Christ makes one a success (one who is accomplished in all that he sets out to achieve especially in terms of material riches). That is the summary of his message. He starts the message by defining consciousness and explaining it as a state of being aware of what is happening to and around you. Like he explains consciousness to be a state of being conscious with examples being listening as a conscious act but sleeping not being a conscious act. While it would make sense to point Christ consciousness to mean being aware of Christ to and around oneself, he subtly introduced the concept that Jesus Christ always had command of every situation he was involved in and hence anyone who is Christ conscious in turn ought to be. The very essence of Christ consciousness is defeated if it encourages materialism which is exactly what chris oyakhilome’s message is out to achieve.


Second message to be scrutinized is titled christ’s purpose for you. One would expect chris oyakhilome to imply that christ’s purpose for every one is to enter the kingdom of heaven but instead he implies that Christ wants us to be successful when he affirms “I am a success” and goes on to instigate his audience to chorus it. He insists that never did Christ Jesus want his followers to lead ordinary lives hence it is only natural for every Christian not to lead an ordinary life. In both messages examined, chris oyakhilome is adopting the same style of brainwashing. First he affirms the credibility of a credible being (Jesus Christ) by insisting that He is the only way to salvation and then launches a very common message attributable to Him (salvation) but deviates by introducing an emotionally inspiring but sensational concept such as divine health, success or earthly domination. He is fond of echoing a misapplied bible verse (greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world) to justify this third aspect of the brainwashing technique. Besides the use of that verse he would often use other verses out of context to illustrate the worldly aspect of his brainwashing.
While the message initially appears to be about Christ it in the very end turns out to be a motivational speech about why every Christian should succeed or dominate earthly obstacles, funny thing is he never shows a prescribed and workable way to achieve this other than the misleading and irrelevant use of unrelated bible verses that do not show how believers can become rich, successful or victorious.


End of part one


In part two, I will be explaining his teaching method and motive behind it.

hubreality:
So many people here operate with several faceless ids' for some negative and harmful reasons.

e.g hubreality

hubreality:
Verify your true self with relevant legal proof of identity first before delving into other peoples established private lives.

senseless talk

Chris Oyakhilome is yet to see the worst. More scandals of his thieving and scamming works will be let out in the coming weeks. This man is truly a psycho-path.

As for christ embassy it is a fact that chris oyakhilome is bigger than it no wonder it is really a reflection of chris oyakhilome in so many ways from 'healing school' to spiritual merchandising (production and sale of his heretical messages in VCD, DVD, mp3, e-book and book formats) and all manner of partnership programmes. He founded and runs christ embassy and uses propaganda to promote himself, cover his deception and heighten his influence over his admirers and worshippers.

In all, Chris oyakhilome idolizes kenneth hagin and benny hinn (both false prophets) this is especially seen in his mimicry of both men in behaviour, business acumen and manners.

In my opinion, the proverbial rooster is merely coming home to roost. All shine your eyes when dealing with Christ embassy because you will only learn your lesson after you have been hurt.

@ all,


I will in the coming days be writing a number of articles to cover some of the messages of Chris Oyakhilome and I intend to contrast his messages especially how he interpretes and applies scripture to back up many of his points with what truly obtains in scripture. From it I intend to show why listening to his messages will harm your faith.


Equally, I will explain his theology (word of faith) and teaching style, why they are false and the reason behind his teaching style.


Point to note, Chris Oyakhilome is a brilliant people reader, he can easily get his way around human weaknesses and limitations.

Hubreality,

Please don't reply this guy. He wants to distract you from what you are doing. I've just realised that all those names attacking Pastor Chris on Nairaland are just a single entity masquerading as different entities just like the devil. They think they know Pastor Chris, but they don't. International School of Ministry (ISM) is on in Jo'burg, and the Healing School. They should take a trip a trip to SA and see or get the tape for Night of Bliss in Jo'burg.

Clown, I have no business with hubreality, the post was meant for others not clowns like you, hubreality, pepeye and other worshipers of chris Oyakhilome

Which do you actually have issues with as regards Pastor Chris Oyahkilome - his teachings, practices or the man himself?

@biina

His teachings and especially his practices

I have been compelled to resurrect this thread because of the propaganda and destructive use of falsehood by an apologist of chris Oyahkhilome in the person of hubreality who has been using nairaland of late through two threads namely; night of bliss with pastor chris and love world building a happier world, to open up a highway of deception.


For the benefit of christianity it is best mentioned that chris oyakhilome has been taking so many people for a ride and if his worshipers are allowed to spread his false gospel of divine health and word of faith, the ones who might suffer this will especially be the average un-informed christian among whom might be your loved ones or associates.


The idea behind resurrecting this thread is counter the works of hubreality.


I hereby restate my position that CHRIS OYAKHILOME is a PHONEY

@Pepeye or tolotolo (whichever better describes you)

The really frustrated lowlife cripples here are you and your partner in this game of deception and trickery (hubreality). Pray God to forgive you of your evil deeds, Jesus Christ was very right when he said out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

I used to think that you were brainwashed fanatics, but clearly you also have a stake in this thing, perhaps the fear of losing earthly glory and mammon worship is what you are out to stop.

Good luck to you.

By the way what is your answer to sirjohn's question (why does chris stage miracles?)?

Please answer the question without expressing your frustration.

Welcome to the search for prosperity. Many people see prosperity as the possession of riches especially cash and expensive items that they can purchase. Some others are less materialistic and see prosperity in terms of achievement of life goals or fulfillment of childhood dreams.


Sadly in Nigeria irrespective of how you see it, success only makes sense to most people if you have money to your name and that is why it is an attractive topic to teach in ‘church’ because of its mass appeal. Recently RCCG joined the elite society of private jet owners with its acquisition of a =N= 4bn 15 seater plane that it claims is for evangelism whereas a reality check clearly shows it is a fulfillment of fleshy desires. With or without a jet evangelism is possible but what difference does it make anyway? As long as blind, pig headed pseudo Christians would rather look the other way, then any show of extravagance with church funds is in order.


Now to the real issue of this article, in life gold or money is actually in abundance, but it requires resourcefulness to unearth. There are cases of where penniless, uneducated men with no connections whatsoever become stupendously wealthy over time just as majority of Nigerians including well educated and well connected ones are either middle class or poor people.


So what is this anointed gold rush? It is the search for earthly success at the expense of real spiritual growth. That is more like what many church goers these days seem to be doing. The poverty situation coupled with massive unemployment, ignorance, uncivilized social expectations and few dissenting voices to this trend encourage many so called Christians to become treasure hunters. For instance, while Chris Oyakhilome can boldly state that “no man can stop you, this is your season, it is your time” evidence judging by his lifestyle and wealth clearly shows that he is actually referring to himself. The real people making money from this gold rush are surprisingly not the treasure hunters, nor miners nor those in search of gold rather and ironically it is those who sell the tools to the treasure hunters. When you buy Mathew Ashimolowo’s book on the right way to invest, do you really think he is talking as an investment advisor or as a pastor? Perhaps David Oyedepo is an expert entrepreneur for him to convince business executives to attend some of his seminar like services? Who knows perhaps even Aliko Dangote might learn a thing or two from him.


The truth is that business men make money by observing consumer behaviours and exploiting them. For instance when people act in a certain way out of ignorance, fear or greed, it is a good opportunity to exploit, just become resourceful and see things for yourself you will have more money than you need in no time. Ask Christian Oyakhilome and S.O Olubuyi of Christ Embassy and Triumphant Christian Centre, they have grown in leaps and bounds. How can I forget Sam Adeyemi, ever smiling, multi millionaire career public speaker and motivator, who pretends or thinks he is a pastor? These men are wise, they will not dare invest in the ailing textile industries or the sometimes risky and unprofitable but capital intensive rigours of publishing, transportation or other forms of manufacturing which would have otherwise provided jobs for many unemployed people including those that attend their wealth building institutions they call church, and yet they expect people to belief that they possess brilliant knowledge of how things should work. Well if they must show people how to create wealth, it should only be done after they have ran successful business empires not ‘churches’.


If you haven’t understood my point yet, ask yourself why your pastors can see victory, prosperity, success, abundance, break through, increase, promotion, upliftment, defeat for the enemy, unending supernatural and spiritually practical result oriented failure proof anointing only if you pay your tithe, sow a seed, or do thanks giving whereas people of other faiths including muslims, pagans and atheists also experience same without doing same? The answer is because wealth is a result of resourcefulness. Ask bill gates, warren buffet, carlos slim, Aliko Dangote or Oprah Winfrey if this is not so. Whereas you are busy involving yourself in a gold rush that profits the man/woman who calls himself/herself a pastor. Here is what I mean, you work and earn a salary but the economic realities deprive you of your much desired satisfaction, so naturally you want more money, your pastor the shrewd holy business man knows that as long as you are not resourceful, the tendency is to seek gold in form of prosperity (money) hence you find him preaching sermons with topics like “Kingdom strategies for prosperity”, “the 7 Ms of money” and “from scratch to cash” If your pastor is busy teaching you how to build wealth but is clearly making money from your anointing/consultancy fees (that includes tithes, seed offerings, first fruits, thanksgiving and what else is there to list?), he is a perfect example of a shrewd businessman. Why? Because he knows that treasure hunting is a failure 94% of the time but business enterprise rewards at least 35% of the time, so he is more likely to make more money than you regardless of how many ‘sermons’ you listen to or how determined or inspired you are.


Word of advice, to be resourceful means to be efficient with the use of time, knowledge, energy, intelligence and habits. Even if you earn =N= 40,000 a month, learn how to budget, save, invest and remain consistent. Just cut your cloth/coat according to your size, invest for retirement, your future home and acquire life changing assets and see if this gold rush will thrive. I am not saying do not go to church or do not support your church programmes with your money, but only give as you are led and as you can afford and not because you are coerced into paying 10% of your income as tithe and what have you.


It is all done in God’s name. Amen

@ dejiariyo,

I agree with you that Adeboye has dribbling skills. My own addition is that his is slightly less harmful than our dear old Maradona/IBB (International Busy Body) of June 12 fame.

Adeboye is fond of making three prong 'prophesies' (prophesies which are bound to come to pass because they could be interpreted in three possible ways) that are nothing more than stating the obvious. His prophesies are very unbiblical in purpose and delivery, when we note the prophesies of Elijah, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah we simply know that Adeboye is merely taking many gullible and over zealous 'Christians' many of whom are superstitious and misguided for a ride.

Adeboye is also in support of proliferation of churches which leads to mindless nominal Christianity, we know that nominal Christianity with blatant disregard for devotion to goodwill and service to mankind is meaningless yet Adeboye fails to see the evil in this. It is all about the money and not the propagation of the gospel that Adeboye sees in the proliferation of churches. That explains why he introduced franchising of the RCCG brand thus making it the fastest growing holy business in the world.

Adeboye recently made some very false prophesies about the global financial meltdown. It was reported by the Guardian two weeks ago that he prophesised that people who pay their tithes regularly will overcome the global financial crisis. This prophesy is false because both tithe paying and non tithe paying Christians will overcome the economic crisis if they are sufficiently armed with enterprise and frugality.

In conclusion, I will not blame Adeboye for his misdemeanors, rather the army of followers who have given too much power to him. Their unwillingness to hold him accountable is the reason his has such potent dribbling skills.

Judas was certainly no hero, other wise the other disciples should have acknowledged his heroism.

@Image123

My mistake was to have replied you.

It is so obvious that your comments are very unrelated to what we are discussing here.

Good luck to you and others who think like you.

@Image123 FYI

1. Jesus Christ founded the church after his resurrection

2. Jesus Christ taught and read scriptures in the synagogues where the pharisees also taught as doctors of the law or Rabbi

In any case no one is renouncing his faith by commenting on this topic in an open forum. The ones complaining are the ones who feel bad the truth is being let out

I guess you'll rather have us swallow the non-sense these false preachers preach than openly challenge them?

Tithes: Christians are not required to pay/give them to anybody


My account of tithes being historically, scripturally and culturally non applicable to christians will be demonstrated in the following article.



History and relevance of Tithes: Why God instituted tithing


What is Tithing?


It is essentially a jewish custom of taxation (although ancient babylonia -which also preceded jewish tithing- was at some point known to have practiced something similar called Esretu) of giving the tenth part of the earth's produce called tithe to the most high God in recognition of how he delivered them from the land of Egypt into the promised land (Deut. 12). It is a form of thanksgiving celebration carried out in God's temple, (the only approved place for worshipping God and offering sacrifices and thanksgiving) for the first and third classes of tithes and anywhere for the second class of tithes done at the end of every harvest period. Meaning that it was a seasonal celebration which was only required by God as a thanksgiving celebration by the descendants of those who were rescued by Him from Egypt. It was also a form of exercising charitable works pleasing in God's sight. Read the whole of Deutoronomy Chapter 12 to understand this.


Classes of tithes


1.A tithe to support the Levites (Deuteronomy 14:27; Numbers 18:24-26),

2. A second tithe taken every three years for the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29)

3. A third tithe to sponsor religious feasts (Deuteronomy 14:22-26) and



Although the bible mentions three different types of tithes namely first tithe which was done on the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th years of the Jewish year cycle (shemmitah), second tithe done every three years i.e 3rd and 6th years and third tithe done in the 7th year, only one of them (2nd tithe) is compulsory and it was usually done every 3 years (known as the year of tithing) of a 7 year cycle called Shemittah (Note none of these tithes were meant for the priests) .
The second class of tithes is what is relevant to this article since it is what most tithe collecting christian denominations refer to, especially when quoting Malachi 3:8-12 out of context.
There was a commandment explicitly given about these tithes and who they were meant for. In Deut. 12 v 13, tithes were meant for orphans, strangers(destitutes and beggars), widows and levites (temple workers but not priests) who collectively constituted the poor since they had no means of livelihood, i.e no land, lifestock or trade to support themselves Deut. 14:27-28 also numbers 18 v 8 -28. It was God's way of providing for everyone so that all were able to survive. The priests who officiated in the temples were entitled to part of the offerings (Bikkurim and Terumah) made in the temple.and a tenth part of the offerings of the levites (numbers 18 v 25).

Unlike offerings which could be done at anytime or season (except Bikkurim and Terumah) and were meant for priests, the tithes were a different case altogether. In other words the real use of tithes is to support the poor (charity) and fund religious festivals/feasts and not to add to the temple or church treasury.

If this self appointed holy business men deem it fit to collect tithes, then it should be done in the same manner it was practiced in the mosaic era namely; 10% of farm produce and at end of every harvest given to charity or 10% of annual income given to support the poor.

Present Day Jewish Practice of tithing Contrasted with Christian Practice of tithing

In the 21st century, the culture of paying a tenth part of your annual income (tithe) is still being practiced in Judaism although in a very different way from christianity. In judaism, an individual is obligated to pay tzedakah (this is known as ma'aser and it is 10-20% of annual income given to charity not priests or rabbis). The minimum being 10% and the maximum being 20%. This is unlike what many pastors would want their congregation to do.Owing to modern trends, farming as an occupation is in short supply hence annual income is now viewed as the equivalent of farm produce.

Whereas in Christianity you pay tithes, it is collected and added to church treasury which is primarily owned and controlled by the self appointed pastor using manipulative means such as quoting Malachi 3: 8-10 out of context in order to force compliance. The whole money which should go to charity is instead diverted for the pastors' personal use in the form of purchase of expensive cars, houses and in extreme cases private jets.


Historical spread of Tithing in Christianity


1. Ancient Era


For the better part of ancient Christianity (between 37AD - 787 AD), tithing was alien. Pope Adrian in 787 recognised tithing due to economic and social hardships the clergy faced as a result of the laity's inability to give generously in support of Church work or phenomenal growth of the church clergy that was not readily met by an increase in freewill offerings from the laity. Even at that tithes were still considered Agricultural produce.


2. Middle Ages


In the middle ages tithes were recognised as 10% of farm produce for farmers and 10% of production for craftsmen and artisans. These tithes were collected by either a priest or a specially appointed denominator who stored these tithes in store houses called tithe barns. Even at this time tithes were not considered monetary contributions but agricultural and industrial output. There was also the differentiation of tithes brought about by the mention of small tithe such as food crops and big tithe which were large animals. The culture of tithing continued until after the reformation when it was abolished in some countries or taken over by governments in places like Germany and switzerland. In the 19th century it was outrightly abolished in all European countries except in England and Austria where mainly devout Christians practice it till date.


3. Modern Era


After the Asuzua reformation which led to the birth of penticostialism, all manner of teachings evolved including the infamous prosperity gospel which claimed that God did not at anytime abolish tithing. These movements mainly of American origin began to imply that it was God's commandment for people to tithe quoting Malachi 3:8-10. They often dishonestly used verses such as Genesis 14:18 and Hebrews 7:1-10 where Abram gave tithes to melchizedek king of Salem, failing to also mention that it was not from his (Abram's) possession but rather from the spoils of war. They falsely claim that Tithes are meant for God's priest siting Deut 14:18, Deuteronomy 14:27 and Numbers 18:24-26 whereas it is meant for the levites who were ministers to the priests, in our time levites would be equivalent to church ushers, Evangelists, Sunday school teachers/Cathechists and others who work in either full time or part time in God's vineyard not including pastors. The most annoying part of this deception is the implication that people who do not tithe (give 10% of their income to their pastors to fund their lavish lifestyle) are stealing from God, thus making the non payment of tithe a sin and the threat of a curse coming upon them if the fail to tithe, which sadly most gullible 'Christians' have accepted and has therefore indirectly put fear into the minds of these people. The logic is if stealing is a sin which could lead you to hell and not tithing (putting money into the church treasury owned and controlled by the greedy pastor) is stealing from God, then anyone who does not tithe is on his/her way to hell.



If Tithes do not apply to Christianity, what then is applicable


The only acceptable contributions to church treasury should be the voluntary freewill offerings as practiced by the early Christians which could be greater than 10% or less than or equal to 10% (just as we have it with tithes) of income, but even that is meant for the less priviledged see Mark 12:41, Luke 21:1-4, Acts 4:32-35 and Acts 5:1-11. Any man who wishes to express his gratitude to God gives as he is led. Note his contribution to church treasury does not stop him/her from doing charitable works like giving to the poor or supporting the welfare of the less priviledged.


Any Christian who feels obligated to tithe should at least ensure that such money is used for charitable works such as feeding the poor and hungry, providing medicines for the sick, providing for orphans, widows, destitutes and other under priviledged ones in our midst like the bible prescribes and not to fund the lavish and oppressive lifestyles of greedy pastors who disguise their love for materialism with false teachings of mandatory financial prosperity, business breakthrough and career success for all Christians, claims on divine health and other use of propaganda and heresy.


Arguments in favour of Tithes


Those who argue that tithes are applicable to christians use a number of dismissable points to back their case. For instance they might argue that:
"Jesus clearly did not do away with the tithe, that in fact He emphatically stated that it should continually be practiced (Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42). This is not surprising, as Jesus taught more about money than any other subject. In fact, He closely tied our attitude toward money to the condition of our hearts"

But this is false, as both verses state that Jesus Christ was castigating the pharisees for their hypocrisy when he particulalry mentioned them tithing but neglecting the more important things of the Law which are Justice and love for God. How does this show that He emphatically encouraged tithing.


Anyway one shouldn't be surprised about these since there will always be people who love to alter and misapply the truth for their selfish reasons, and we can readily see this with certain people who want us to believe that tithes are monetary, should be paid directly into the special anointed accounts of materialistic pastors (disguised as church treasury) and must be done consistently. These people are quick to point out that tithing preceded the law and so all Christians are not excluded from it, but fail to mention that circumcision and animal sacrifices also preceded the law. If we must tithe because tithing preceded the law then circumcision is also compulsory for all Christians and sin offerings in the form of animal sacrifices must also be made in atonement for every sin we commit. But of course we know that will be contrary to what Paul wrote concerning circumcision and its effect on our salvation in Romans 2:25-29 or sin offerings in the form of Animal sacrifices in his letter to the Hebrews 9:23-28.


In conclusion, if at all Christians must tithe (give up 10% of their income) then such moneys must go to the poor.